


Little Witch Chronicles

by Princess976



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Angst, Blood Magic, Cheating, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Falling In Love, Forbidden Love, Friends to Lovers, Minor Elena Gilbert/Damon Salvatore, Minor Jeremy Gilbert/Bonnie Bennett, Romance, Violence, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-04
Updated: 2014-04-23
Packaged: 2018-01-11 03:59:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 27,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1168410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Princess976/pseuds/Princess976
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Damon watched the life drain from Amara and mourns the life he'll never have with Bonnie.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Not Yet, Little Witch

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: So this one-shot is about what happened when Damon realized that Amara was dead and he didn't know Tessa had finished the spell. He seemed way too upset to just be worried about how Elena was going to handle it. Just to help you set the scene, at the end of this Bonnie is left standing in front of the fire by herself like on the show before Tessa passed through to the other side. So in my head she was thinking about what happened with Damon not about Baby Gilbert.

Damon held Amara's lifeless body in his arms. He was not going to accept this, he couldn't. Bonnie could not be lost to him. He had thought that he had time. Time to what he thought bitterly. Time to make her see that life could be beautiful. He laughed bitterly to himself, disgusted at how much he sounded like Stefan. He didn't believe that life could be beautiful. The future he saw with Elena was riddled with death and sadness. But when he let himself dare to dream of a world where Bonnie Bennett could love him life was beautiful. He had known since the night of the 60's dance that he and Bonnie were a great team. The way they worked together effortlessly. They could anticipate each others actions and reactions. It was perfect. They were perfect but she had been dating Baby Gilbert. So he let his obsession with Elena take over him. It consumed him until he actually believed that he loved Elena. Only deep down in places that Damon didn't admit to having, his heart and soul, he knew Elena was a consolation prize. Bonnie was the dream he'd never admit to having. But now the hope that someday he and Bonnie would be together was fading. He didn't kid himself into believing that he and Elena were forever.

He knew Tessa was right when she said the universe wanted the doppelgangers together. He knew Elena thought she loved him but he knew that she didn't love him the way she loved Stefan. And even though on the surface Damon pretended that it bothered him it truly didn't. The knowledge that Elena would someday leave him for Stefan should have crushed him. It should have made him want to kill someone, anyone. But it didn't. He was strangely resigned to it. But now his future looked more bleak than it ever had because in his inner most fantasies when that happened he would be free to go to Bonnie and tell her how he felt. He realized now that, that would never happen. He knew Elena would leave him but he wouldn't get his happy ending. He didn't know why he was surprised. He was Damon Salvatore. He didn't get happy endings. He got scraps and he had to piece them together to make the semblance of a life.

Damon had always known that with Bonnie he wouldn't have to piece together anything. That with her he would be happier than he'd ever been in his whole existence. As he left Amara's body in the woods and returned to the house he pushed his grief down. He had to be strong for Elena. He had to be strong for all of them. It was his job. He had promised Ric. He would be their rock and he would handle his despair one dead body at a time. It had been a while since he'd gone on a rampage. He realized with a start that the reason he hadn't gone on any killing sprees was because he didn't want to disappoint Bonnie. They couldn't have a future if she still saw him as a homicidal psychotic. But none of that mattered anymore. Bonnie was lost to him and he couldn't see a way out of his pain.

He entered the boarding house and no one was in the study. He strode across the room and poured a drink. He was going to need one if he was going to get Elena through this. He heard laughter coming from be kitchen and he stopped the glass halfway to his lips. What was there to laugh about? Bonnie was gone! What could there be to laugh about? He headed toward the sound and sitting on a stool in his kitchen eating cold Chinese food was Bonnie Bennett. Damon staggered slightly. He was in shock. Bonnie turned then and bestowed him with a brilliant smile. She leaped off her stool and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. He suspected that Elena, Caroline and Jeremy were looking at the two of them but he didn't care. He and Bonnie shared a bond that none of them could begin to understand. It warmed his heart to know that Bonnie knew it to. She pulled away from him and smiled shyly. He smirked and left the friends to their reunion. He stood in front of the fire contemplating all the thoughts he'd had in the woods. The murderous rampage was off but the prize of having Bonnie back made up for any pleasure he would have found in mass murder. He heard footsteps behind him and assumed Elena had come to join him. He was surprised when Bonnie spoke.

"Thank you." Bonnie said her voice a whisper.

"No thanks necessary. I didn't do anything." Damon said uncharacteristically modest.

" You wouldn't give up. Even when I thought it was hopeless. But then again you always manage to get things done." Bonnie said with a small smile.

"This wasn't just some routine thing, Bonnie. This was the most important thing I've ever been apart of. I had to save you." Damon said softly.

"Why?" she asked as she stepped closer to him. He looked down at her and he couldn't believe she was actually standing there. He caressed her face just to be sure. Bonnie closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. Her eyes sprang open when she realized what she was doing, what he was doing. She stepped away from Damon with a frown on her face.

"I'm sorry Bonnie. I just can't believe you're really here and I can see you. I won't touch you again." Damon said sincerely. Bonnie wasn't sure what was happening. She didn't know why she had the uncontrollable urge to be in Damon's arms the moment she saw him. She didn't know why she had followed him into the study or why him touching her had felt so right. She was with Jeremy and he was with Elena, none of her feelings made any sense. Damon watched the emotions flicker across Bonnie's face. He watched her step toward him. He looked into her mossy colored eyes and wondered what she was thinking. Damon sighed and leaned down and kissed her. She started and then wound her arms around his neck and stood on her tiptoes to deepen the kiss. He pulled away from her after several long passion filled minutes. He placed his forehead against hers and softly whispered.

"Not yet little witch but someday we are going to have everything we ever wanted." Damon left Bonnie standing in front of the fire contemplating the future they were destined to have together.


	2. Right Behind You, Little Witch

It had been a couple weeks since Bonnie had been resurrected. She was doing OK but she still hadn't gotten used to being the Anchor. It was jarring every time a supernatural being passed through her. But so far she had avoided anyone knowing about it even Jeremy. She was happy to be at Whitmore College, it made her feel close to her grams. When Bonnie was a little girl her grams used to take Bonnie to the campus with her and she would sit in on her classes and play in the quad. They were all good memories and she needed them when faced with an eternity of being the Anchor. She didn't complain, she never did she just dealt with her problems as they came and didn't burden anyone else. That was why she hadn't told anyone about the side effect of being the Anchor. She didn't want to seem ungrateful. And if she was honest with herself that wasn't what she had been thinking about anyway. She was thinking about Damon and that kiss they had shared and his cryptic words after. She didn't know why she had responded to him that way. She loved Jeremy. She knew she did, so why was there a piece of her that hoped Damon was right. She hadn't asked him and not because she was avoiding him but because she'd been busy. Plus he was busy trying to fix Stefan. Bonnie felt helpless when it came to Stefan. He had always been there for her and it was frustrating to her that she couldn't help. And not to mention the fact that her magic was gone. She hadn't tried any spells but she didn't feel like a witch anymore. Missing magic was another thing she didn't talk about. She didn't want to seem unappreciative but she missed her powers. She understood that she had broken so many rules and upset the balance one to many times but she had learned her lesson. But it didn't matter her powers were gone and she wasn't going to cry about something she couldn't change. She was going to concentrate on all the good things. Like being alive and having her friends and having Jeremy.

Because Bonnie was avoiding Damon she didn't know that he'd been avoiding her as well. He wasn't ready to answer the questions he knew she would ask. So he just immersed himself in helping Stefan get through his PTSD. It had been left to him and Katherine because Elena and Caroline were wrapped up in college and Bonnie being back. It was a little disconcerting that Katherine was being helpful but he figured that being human had changed her. Possibly for the better but that remained to be seen. After a particularly trying day where Damon had to pry Stefan's fingers from around Katherine's neck he announced that they needed a witch and he'd be back. Damon drove straight to Whitmore College. He figured it was time to stop ignoring the most powerful witch he knew. He found her sitting under a tree.

"Hey Bon." Damon said lightly. He was hoping to avoid all the awkward that he was positive was supposed to come with this encounter. Bonnie was shocked to see Damon standing over her. She didn't know what he wanted but she wasn't exactly ready for all the emotions that bubbled to the surface upon seeing him. She decided to play it as cool as he apparently was.

"Hi, Damon." she said. She was proud that her voice didn't betray any of the emotions that she was feeling. "What are you doing here? Going back to college?"

Damon smirked and was thankful that Bonnie wasn't going to make a big deal out of something that he wasn't ready to talk about.  
"No, but the person I'm in desperate need of finding is here at this questionable institution of higher learning." Damon said with a quirk of his eyebrows. Bonnie would never admit it but her heart sank when she realized he wasn't looking for her.

"Elena's in class but feel free to wait for her in our room. Just keep it clean. Caroline and I do live there." Bonnie said teasingly she wasn't going to let him know her feelings were hurt.

"What? I'm not looking for Elena. I'm looking for you. I came for you, I need your help." Damon said marveling in how right those words felt coming out of his mouth. He registered the surprise on her face and pushed on with his reason for coming to drag her away. "Stefan isn't getting any better and short of taking him to New Orleans to get him compelled by a freaking Original I'm out of options and then I thought of you. My favorite back from the dead witch." He noticed sadness flicker across her eyes but it was gone as quickly as it had come.

"You wasted a trip. I'm not a witch anymore. I'm just the Anchor to the other side. No witchy juju. I can't help as much as I'd like to." Bonnie said with a sad smile. Damon was confused. No one had told him that she didn't have her powers.

"What are you talking about? Why hasn't anyone mentioned it? Why didn't you mention it?" Damon asked understanding her momentary sadness.  
Bonnie took a deep breath. "Elena, Caroline, and Jeremy know already. Why would they mention it? " Bonnie watched his face for any sign of anything but she realized he probably wouldn't give anything away he'd had over a hundred years to perfect hiding his emotions.

"Oh I don't know Bonnie maybe we could have been looking for a way to get your magic back. I'm thinking there's nothing we can't do, we got you back from the dead."

"No. There is no way. I broke to many rules and technically I'm not alive. Magic is for the living which is why my mother couldn't be both. I'm fine with it. Don't worry about it."

Damon knew that she wasn't OK with not having her powers. It was too much of who she was and he knew it made her miserable whether she admitted it or not. He wasn't ready to let her off the hook. He wanted to talk about it. He opened his mouth to say something else but he noticed she wasn't listening to him. She was staring behind him, he turned but didn't see anyone. He turned back and she was getting to her feet. "I have to get to class. I'm sorry I can't help you with Stefan I really wish I could." Bonnie said as she gathered her things and hurried off. Damon wasn't finished talking to her and he found her in a deserted area of the campus doubled over in pain. He rushed to her side panic trying to set in.

"Bonnie, what's wrong?" he asked as he steadied her.

"Nothing. It's under control. I can handle it." Bonnie said with a grimace of pain as she stood up. Damon looked at her incredulously.

"Excuse me if I don't believe you. The last time you thought you could handle something you wound up dead! So tell me what is going on?" Damon demanded and she knew it would be easier to tell him than to fight with him. She also recognized that Damon was probably the best person to confide in. He wouldn't begin to mother her or look at her with sympathetic eyes. She didn't need that right then.

"I'm the Anchor, Damon. Every supernatural being that dies passes through me to the other side. I feel their pain as they pass. I'm dealing with it. It's a small price to pay to be in the land of the living." Bonnie said with as little emotion as possible. Damon didn't speak. He just pulled Bonnie into his arms and hugged her. He didn't know how he knew that what she needed was a hug but he knew. She responded to his embrace immediately and he held her closer. He could feel her trembling and he just held her and stroked her hair.

"That sucks, Bon!" Damon said after she pulled away and wiped her eyes. Bonnie chuckled because he was right it did suck but it was such an underwhelming thing for Damon to say it brought a smile to her face. "But are you sure about the magic? I mean other witches can do magic from the other side why can't you? Especially since you're a descendent of Crazy, I mean Tessa." Damon asked his brow furrowed as he thought deeply.

"I told you Damon magic is for the living. I'm somewhere in the middle." Bonnie needed him to understand that he couldn't fix everything. He stepped closer to her and put his hand over her heart. When he touched her her heart started to race and her entire body became flushed with heat.

"You feel alive to me. I can feel your heart racing under my hand and I can hear your blood rushing through your veins. So no Bonnie you are not somewhere in the middle you are very much alive. So tell me little witch why don't you have your magic?" Bonnie took a step back from him the intensity she could feel radiating from him was making it hard for her to focus. She shook her head slightly before she answered.

"Ok maybe I am alive but the last time I was alive I abused my powers. I helped vampires. I brought Jeremy back from the dead twice. And let's not forget desiccating Klaus and the body switching with him and Tyler. Oh yeah and my favorite the Expression. I crossed too many lines I upset the balance too many times. This is my punishment. I've accepted it, you should to. I'm sorry. You should go find a real witch to help with Stefan."

She gathered her things and walked away. Damon watched her go. He knew he wasn't going to stop until Bonnie had her powers back and if not hers then somebody else's. Damon wasn't convinced that her powers were gone. He knew that while she was on the other side she had watched the witches torture her beloved grams. He was a first hand witness to the power of the dead witches in the witch house. Bonnie was selling herself short. He knew it and he just had to convince her to let him try to help her.

* * *

Weeks later Damon and Bonnie hadn't talked to each other. It wasn't because they were avoiding each other. Well Damon wasn't avoiding Bonnie but she had been avoiding him like the plague. He had been out of town, New Orleans actually. He took Stefan to visit Rebekah but for some reason she was less than cooperative. Leaving with no alternative than to ask Klaus for help. To Damon and Stefan's surprise Klaus was more than happy to help. Damon didn't care why he was a kinder gentler Klaus he just wanted him to help. Of course he wanted a favor to be called upon in the future from Stefan and Damon. The brothers agreed and Klaus compelled Stefan to let go of the pain of his imprisonment. After the compulsion Damon could see the cloud lift from Stefan's eyes. He was grateful to Klaus more grateful than he could ever tell him but since he had his brother back he had other things to attend to like getting Bonnie's witchy juju back. Klaus had a line on a witch who could answer his questions. Stefan was more than willing to help Damon help Bonnie. When they arrived to the dilapidated old house that Klaus had directed them to they shared an uneasy look. It would be just like Klaus to help them then lead them to their demise. When they reached the door step they paused not sure whether they would be able to enter. Damon took a tentative step and Stefan followed. They followed the scent and heartbeat of the only living person in the house. Located at the back of the house was a frail old woman. She smiled a toothless smile at the Salvatore brothers and beckoned them forward. They took a tentative step forward very cautious and alert. Her voice was surprisingly strong when she spoke.

"Damon and Stefan Salvatore, you are here about the Bennett witch." she didn't pose it as a question just a statement. Before either brother could speak she spoke again. "She is having trouble with her powers now that she is the Anchor." Stefan and Damon shared another look as they both realized that again she wasn't asking. They waited patiently assuming that Klaus had told her why they were coming. "She struggles with the passing's to the other side." Stefan's brow furrowed and he glanced at Damon who nodded slightly. Damon hadn't told anyone about that little tidbit that Bonnie had shared with him. He was confused at how this old woman knew. "You wish to help her but that is beyond you." Damon grew angry and flashed across the room but before he could touch her he was on his knees screaming in pain. Stefan rushed to Damon's side and looked at the old witch with pleading eyes. She stopped the aneurysm and smiled again. "That will teach him to attack before a person is finished." She watched as Damon got to his feet. When he was standing she continued as if nothing had happened. "When the young Bennett witch died she had great power. Few could rival her. Her potential is limitless that is why Silas used her. Her power is far greater than she imagined. Now that she is the Anchor she can draw power from the side she is holding fast."

"I don't understand." Stefan said for both himself and his brother. "I thought that magic came from nature and when it didn't it was forbidden"

The old lady nodded. "You must understand that for your friend the rules are different. She is a Bennett a direct descendant of Qetsiyah magic is different for her. Now she must harness her power from the other side. There is much power at her disposal and it is not contingent on nature. She must call on the powers from the other side. For too long have the witches there been able to torment the living and the undead. Their time has passed and magic is for the living. It is up to Bonnie to restore the balance."

"Bonnie thinks her not being able to do magic is punishment for abusing her powers. How can I...we convince her otherwise?" Damon asked. "She's the most stubborn person I've ever met."

"You must convince her. She is the only one who can do it." the old lady said adamantly. Damon became suspicious of the old ladies motives.

"Why are you so concerned with Bonnie getting her witchy juju back?"

The old lady smiled her toothless smile once again. "You need not protect her from me, Damon. The balance of power in the living world is wrong, as long as Bonnie doesn't have her powers. While her power is unused it can be tapped by others. This is unsafe." Stefan wrinkled his brow.

"Unsafe? How? We aren't putting Bonnie in danger again."

"The power is not dangerous for a Bennett. Many witches are drawing from this power. Alive and dead." she shook her head sadly. "The witches on the other side weren't loaning her their powers when she was granted the power of 1000. They were granting her access to a fraction of what is already hers. Bonnie is magic's representative on this plane. She is entitled to this power and she must take it."

Damon still had a lot of questions. "But when Bonnie gained that power it was a spell in her grimoire. Any witch could do it so explain what you mean."

"That spell is to borrow power. Bonnie doesn't need to borrow. The power is hers, witches on the other side are supposed to act as a guardian of the power. Somehow they found that they could use it and they convinced Bonnie that she was not as powerful as them. This is a lie. The power belongs to her and as a Bennett witch she just has to take it."

"Why did Shelia force Bonnie to limit her power. As a Bennett witch she had to know Bonnie's potential, why did she doom her before she started?" Stefan asked.

"Shelia Bennett had every intention of telling Bonnie her full potential. She died before she had a chance. There is a reason that Shelia has no power on the other side. It is because she knows that her time to do magic is over. Emily made an exception to awaken Bonnie's power. She had not used the power before nor has she used it since." the ancient witch said.

"That's a nice story about Shelia. Involving Bonnie's dead grandmother is a classy way to go." Damon said with a sneer. He was growing impatient. The old woman had said many times that the power was hers for the taking but she never said how. That led Damon to believe that all of that was a lie and she was after Bonnie for something. The old witch rose from her seat and crossed to a locked cabinet and pulled a letter out and handed it to Damon. He looked down at it and saw it was addressed to Bonnie. "What's this? Damon asked turning the letter over in his hands."

"A message to Bonnie from Shelia." she said simply.

"How and why do you have it?" Damon asked with suspicion creeping into his voice.

"Shelia left it with me the last time I saw her. It was right after Stefan returned to Mystic Falls. She knew you weren't far behind and there were many things she had to tell Bonnie the most important of which she put in that letter." the witch said. "I do not expect Bonnie to believe the words of a stranger but she will believe her grandmother."

Damon put the letter in his pocket. He and Stefan left the old house with a brief thank you to the witch. Stefan could see that Damon was deep in thought and didn't want to interrupt but he had things to say.

"Damon, I need to say somethings to you. Promise me you'll listen before you speak." Damon nodded slightly without taking his eyes from the two lane blacktop. "Thank you. I know how hard you worked to help me. I know you're sorry that you didn't notice I was missing. I'm not going to say it's OK but I understand." Stefan could see Damon about to interrupt. He held up his hand and Damon closed his mouth and quirked an eyebrow at his little brother. "I'm angry Damon but not so much that I'm going to act like we're not brothers. We are and we are all that we have. Inside that safe all I could hope for was that the two people I care about most in the world would come and save me. When you didn't it devastated me. But I forgive you because I love you you're my brother. I'm never going to say that what you did was OK, but I can't keep holding on to that. I know that if you'd known you would have searched for me and I have to hold on to that." Stefan finished before looking out of the window. Damon glanced at his baby brother for a minute before he looked back at the road.

"Stefan, I don't deserve your forgiveness. I should have known. Silas didn't try that hard to be you. I was so wrapped up in Elena that I didn't notice. You're right. It's not OK it's never going to be OK. How can it be? I abandoned you, again. Every time I get the opportunity to make things right with you I mess it up. And here you are telling me you understand. I don't want you to think I take your forgiveness and understanding lightly. I don't. I can't thank you enough for letting me try to help you but it's the least I could do."

"Damon I don't want to spend eternity accepting your apology. I forgive you let's move past this. You have to forgive yourself. Besides wallowing in guilt is my thing." Stefan said with a quirk of his lips. Damon smirked in response to Stefan's joke. He was glad that he and Stefan could get past all the bullshit that he had put him through in the last few months. Damon relaxed against his seat and thought about what he was going to say to Bonnie.

Stefan saw the look on Damon's face and wondered what he was thinking about. "What are you thinking about?"

Damon glanced at Stefan again. "Oh so we're going to be brothers who share. Ok, if you must know I was thinking about Bonnie. What I am going to say when we get back."

"Why do you have to say anything? Just give her that letter and be there for her after she reads it. She will probably have questions that you can answer or maybe she will just want to cry be there for that to." Damon looked at his brother quizzically and quirked his eyebrows.

"Isn't Jeremy the one she should be crying on? He is her boyfriend after all." calling Jeremy Gilbert Bonnie's boyfriend left a sour taste in his mouth but he ignored it.

"Jeremy doesn't even know that Bonnie misses her magic. He thinks she's ok with not having it. So I doubt she told him you were looking for ways to get it back." Stefan said matter-of-factly.

"It would be hard for her to tell Jeremy or anyone else because she doesn't know. I didn't want to get her hopes up and then not be able to deliver. So not only do I have to tell her I went behind her back to get her magic back I come bearing a letter from her dead grandmother. I think that will go over well, what do you think?" Damon asked with a grimace.

"I think you should be glad Bonnie doesn't think she has magic because that would be an aneurysm for sure." Stefan said with a laugh. Damon rolled his eyes as they crossed Wyckery Bridge. He dropped Stefan off at the boarding house and headed to Whitmore College. He found Bonnie sitting under the same tree as a few weeks ago. He sauntered up to her and sat next to her leaning against the tree legs straight out in front of him crossed at the ankles.

"Hey Bon." Damon said. He hadn't looked at her he just rested his head against the tree trunk eyes closed.

"Damon what do you want?" Bonnie asked. She hoped she kept the hitch from her voice. She tried not to admire Damon's frame as he lounged next to her but he was sexy. He opened his eyes and made eye contact with her and watched her blush and look away. He smirked but decided not to mention it.

"I have good news!" Damon said with a smile.

"Oh OK. What is it?" Bonnie tried not to return his smile but it was no use.

"I fixed Stefan. Well Klaus did but who's keeping track. The PTSD is gone and Stefan is back to his normal broody self. I'm extremely proud of myself. Feel free to pat me on the back." Bonnie laughed out loud because she knew how happy he was about Stefan but she also knew his inflated ego really did want all the glory and he was only partially kidding about wanting a pat on the back.

"I'm really happy for Stefan. I'm a little worried about asking Klaus. We just got rid of him. And now you both owe him." Bonnie said with concern marring her features.

"I'm not worried. He seemed different. Hopefully it'll be a long time before either Stefan or I will have to repay him. So while I was there Stefan and I saw a witch about you." Damon told her with a look trepidation in his eyes.

"Why? I told you to leave it alone. My magic is gone and I need to come to terms with it. Stop trying to fix everything. You can't fix everything!" Bonnie said angrily.

Damon quirked his eyebrows at Bonnie. "History would say different. And I'm talking recent history. I brought you back from the dead and managed to cure Stefan of a debilitating case of PTSD. I think fixing everything is exactly what I can do!"

"Qetsiyah brought me back and Klaus compelled Stefan. You didn't actually do anything." Bonnie pointed out.

"I don't have time to argue semantics with you. Just hear me out. If when I'm done you don't want to try what I found out I'll let it go. I promise." Damon said a sincere look filling his ice blue eyes. Against her better judgment Bonnie nodded her head and allowed him to tell her what he and Stefan discovered. When he finished he handed her the letter from her grandmother. She took it gingerly. She looked at the familiar handwriting scrolled across the front. Bonnie ran her fingers over the words as tears welled in her eyes. Bonnie slid the letter out of the envelop and the tears she had been holding in coursed down her cheeks.

_My dearest Bonnie,_ _  
_ _If you are reading this then I'm dead. I won't say don't cry for me but know that I'm alright. I am with our ancestors in peace. There is so much I wanted to tell you. So much you have to learn and I fear that with me gone you will not have proper guidance. I wish I could count on your mother but she made her choice. She did a spell to save Elena knowing that it would take her from you. I'm so sorry I wish she had chosen differently but we can't change the past only the future._

_And your future is bright sweetheart. There are things about your powers that I didn't tell you. I didn't want to scare you or overwhelm you. I taught you magic through nature because it is important to know where most witches draw their power. But you my dear do not need to draw power from nature. You can do so and it will serve you well. But if you ever need more it is within your grasp. As a Bennett witch and a descendant of_ _Qetsiyah_ _you have power from a place other than nature. She created the other side where all supernatural beings go when they die and in doing so she created a power source greater than she could have imagined._

_You must claim the power Bonnie. It is yours but you can't abuse it. It is a great responsibility that I know you will use to do only good things. There is an old house in Mystic Falls in the woods 1000 witches guard it and they guard the power. You must go there and claim what is yours by birth. I am so sorry that I am not there for you. To help you but I know you have surrounded yourself with people who care about you and love you. Lean on them let them help. All of them even Damon Salvatore. He is charged with guarding and protecting all Bennett witches. It is a_ _responsibility_ _he takes seriously do not punish him for what he is but challenge him to be better than himself. I love you very much and know that I miss you so much. But I am always close by in your heart where you carry me forever._ _  
_ _G_ _rams_

Bonnie couldn't believe what she was had read. All this time she had been struggling to save her friends with limited magic and it wasn't necessary. She cried for all the people she may have been able to save. Jenna, Alaric, her parents maybe Elena wouldn't be a vampire or Tyler wouldn't be a hybrid. So many things she could have prevented if only she'd known. But she recognized that she wasn't ready for that kind of power before now. Before she would have abused it in the name of her friends. But Bonnie accepted that this power was a gift and she was going to treat it as such. She stood to her feet and strode across the campus. She turned back to look at Damon.

"Are you coming?" she asked with a radiant smile

"Right behind you, little witch." Damon said as he followed Bonnie toward her destiny.

 


	3. Thank You, Little Witch

Damon and Bonnie set off across Whitmore College towards Damon's Camero. Bonnie was excited and a little afraid of what was going to happen and what it would mean for her. As they were walking there was a voice calling their names.

"Damon, Bonnie, wait." Elena Gilbert called out as she rushed across the quad toward the pair. Bonnie turned to wait for her best friend.

"Hi, Elena." Bonnie said with a smile.

"Hi guys. Where are you going?" Elena asked coming to a stop in front of them.

"I'm going to class. Damon was coming to find you because he has some good news. I'll see you later." Bonnie said before she walked away.

"You have good news?" Elena asked stepping closer to Damon.

"Yeah, I fixed Stefan." Damon said with a smile.

"That's great. Rebekah compelled him? I'm so glad." Elena said. She wasn't very supportive of the plan to take Stefan to New Orleans. She was glad to finally be rid of the Original family. But Elena knew that Rebekah had a soft spot for Stefan, and she would gladly help him.

"Rebekah was busy being a bitch and she wouldn't help. Klaus is the one who compelled Stefan." Damon inform her. Elena stepped away from Damon shocked.

"What? Why would you do that? He can't be trusted. We finally got rid of Klaus and now Stefan owes him." Elena said angrily.

"Actually we both owe him." Damon shrugged.

"You both owe him? Damon, what were you thinking? Why would you agree to owe Klaus anything?" Elena scolded. Damon looked at Elena with scorn.

"What was I thinking? I was thinking that I would do anything to fix Stefan. Including owing Klaus a favor that he may not call in for a hundred years. Stefan is the most important person in my life. I owe him; it was Stefan who went to Klaus on my behalf. He was willing to sacrifice and become the ripper to save me. He suffered in a safe for three months while we pretended that no one else existed. So excuse me if I don't feel like owing Klaus is a big price to pay." Damon said angry. He couldn't believe that Elena was upset about Stefan being better.

"Damon, I'm sorry I just think you could have found another way." Elena said snidely. Damon's eyebrows rose high on his forehead

"Well I'm sorry Elena. I only wanted Stefan to be well. I'm sorry my methods don't meet up with your exceedingly high standards. But since you couldn't be bothered to offer any suggestions you don't get to criticize my solution." Damon said with an air of slightly veiled hostility.

"Damon, why are you so upset?" Elena whined and pouted slightly.

"I'm upset because it seems to me that all your concern for Stefan wasn't a real. That you don't feel remorse for what we did last summer. I came to Whitmore to tell you that Stefan was cured of his debilitating case of PTSD and offer to take you to dinner to celebrate; but forget it. I don't want to celebrate with someone who isn't excited about Stefan being better."

"Damon, that's not what I'm saying. I am glad that Stefan is better. I just don't think that Klaus was the best option." Elena said again.

"Klaus was the only option with Rebekah being less than helpful. And don't open your mouth and suggest Elijah. He was nowhere to be found and I wasn't going to hunt him down when I had Klaus in front of me offering to help. It wasn't your call and I probably wouldn't have listened if it was." Damon couldn't believe how far apart the two of them were at the moment. He had thought that Elena would understand. He thought that she would get why he would do anything for Stefan. He knew she would be concerned about owing Klaus but he had sincerely thought that she would just be happy they had Stefan back. "Why are you so upset? You're not the doppelganger anymore. He can't use your blood. You're not the missing ingredient for his pack of loyal mutts. What exactly is your problem?" Damon asked with an edge to his voice.

"I don't trust Klaus. I never will. And I will never understand why you made the choice to believe him." Elena said a frown clouding her face.

"Because Stefan's my little brother. And there's nothing I wouldn't do to save him. And if you can't comprehend that then you're not the Elena I fell in love with." Damon said sadly as he walked away. Elena watched him go, unsure of what had just happened. It felt like a huge shift had been forced into their relationship but she didn't know how to fix it or what it even meant. She was going to allow Damon a few days to cool off then to go to the boarding house to fix things.

Damon slid into the driver's seat of his Camero beside Bonnie. She looked at his face and she knew of the conversation hadn't gone well.

"Is everything OK?" Bonnie asked concerned.

"No Bonnie everything is not OK." Damon sneered at her. Bonnie was taken by surprise. Damon hadn't been rude to her since well she couldn't remember the last time. She decided not to lash out at him and try to be a friend to him instead.

"Ok. So what's wrong? Did you have a fight with Elena?" Bonnie asked patiently. Damon was shocked. He expected Bonnie to fight with him. He could always count on his little which to distract him with an argument, but it looked as if today Bonnie wasn't taking the bait. Damon stayed silent hoping to irritate her into an argument so that he didn't have to think about what happened with Elena. When Bonnie stayed silent he knew she was trying to wait him out and he figured she probably could.

"Bonnie, I don't really want talk about it. I don't even know what happened exactly. All I know is that told her about Stefan and the only thing she could manage to muster up was disappointment that Klaus was the one who did the compelling. I tried to explain to her that owing Klaus a favor was trivial to me. Stefan's state of mind was at stake. Elena asked me if there was another option and I told her no but that wasn't the truth. I had to decide." Damon said to her.

"Damon, if there was another option that didn't involve Klaus, you should have considered it. We have no idea what he may want later." Bonnie said surprised that Damon would choose Klaus.

"No Bonnie in this case, Klaus was the lesser of two evils. The only other way for Stefan's PTSD to go away was for Stefan to flip the switch." Damon told her, his face glum. Bonnie inhaled sharply. She hadn't realized the situation was that dire.

"Had he considered it? Flipping the switch, I mean." Bonnie asked him her voice full of sympathy.

"Yeah, he thought about it a lot actually. I have Katherine to think for keeping him from jumping off the ledge." Damon said truthfully.

"Katherine? Katherine Pierce?" Bonnie asked incredulously.

"Yeah. I know what a shock but she's helped Stefan more than I probably know. Believe it or not I'm thankful to her. I owe her which is not something I'm happy about." Damon said with a shrug.

"Did you explain to Elena that it was Klaus or the return of the Ripper?" Bonnie couldn't believe that her best friend would be OK with Stephen becoming the Ripper again

"No, but that's not the point. She should've trusted that I had exhausted all other avenues before I went to Klaus. Being concerned about what he could want later is one thing. Reprimanding me like I'm a child because she didn't like the course of action is another. Bonnie, something had to be done. Stefan's sanity was hanging on by damn thread. An opportunity presented itself and I wasn't about to pass it up." Damon said unapologetic. Bonnie understood what Damon had done. If and when Klaus came to collect his favor she'd be there to help the Salvatore brothers. She nodded her head in agreement.

"I agree with you. Ripper Stefan was never an option. You made the right choice." Bonnie said lightly touching his arm.

"Thank you, little witch." Damon said with a glance at Bonnie as he started the car and headed toward Mystic Falls.

 


	4. Welcome Back, Little Witch

As Damon sped toward Mystic Falls Bonnie began to get nervous. She wanted her powers back more than anything but she was afraid. What if she couldn't handle the power? What if she abused the power? What would happen to her? Her grams was wrong, she couldn't be the one the power was meant for. She had proven that she couldn't handle immense power. Her abuse of magic was why she had just recently been resurrected. Damon felt the shift in Bonnie's emotions as if she had said something aloud.

"Bon, what's wrong?" Damon asked her without looking her way. She started in her seat. She hadn't said anything, she was trying to have her panic attack silently so he wouldn't notice.

"Nothing's wrong. Why do you ask?" Bonnie said while avoiding looking Damon's way.

"Fear." he responded simply. She turned her head to look at him. He was looking at her with understanding, waiting for her to respond.

"What do you mean?" she asked on a whisper.

"I can feel the fear coming from you. It's something I've felt before but never from you. Not even on our very first meeting." Damon said with a smirk at the memory. Bonnie looked at Damon curiously, wondering at the smirk.

"We remember that encounter entirely differently. I remember being terrified." Bonnie said.

"Terrified? No Bonnie you were not terrified. At least not in the way you mean." Damon said with another smirk as his eyebrows rose into his hairline.

"Damon, what are you talking about? You're not making any sense." Bonnie said shaking her head.

"Bonnie, it's just me and you. You can admit it. I know that if I terrified you it wasn't because you were fearing for your life." Damon said. Bonnie noticed that the timbre of his voice had changed and she refused to look at him.

"Meaning what?" she asked her voice barely a whisper.

"Meaning, if I scared you it was because you had never felt such an intense and immediate attraction to another person." Damon said sexily.

"I didn't! Your ego knows no bounds. How are you really able to turn that encounter into something sexual?" Bonnie asked with disbelief in her voice.

"You're the one who called me 'sexy danger guy'" Damon said calmly with a smirk. He watched as Bonnie's cheeks became tinted rose colored. "if I had  _terrified_  you, sexy is not the adjective you would have used." Damon finished with a shrug.

"You forgot 'older', I said ' _older_  sexy danger guy'. And that's not the point." Bonnie said crossing her arms over her chest.

"It is the point but I'll let it go. Tell me where the fear is coming from." Damon asked picking up the thread of their previous conversation. Bonnie sighed, she thought he had forgotten about what sparked their ridiculous sparring session. She knew he wasn't going to let it go, so she took a deep breath and told him.

"I'm scared that I'm not strong enough. We know what happens when I get immense power. I abuse it because I am weak and I can't handle a lot of power." Bonnie said as she wiped a tear from her eye. Damon looked at Bonnie incredulously.

"Bonnie, you're wrong, again. You have weaknesses that doesn't make you weak it makes you human. Hindsight is 20/20 so stop looking back. You are the most powerful witch I've ever met. That includes Qetsiyah and Silas. Your biggest problem is self doubt. When you don't doubt yourself I've seen you do amazing things. The night of the 60's dance is the perfect example. Desiccating Klaus is another. Why is it that I have more faith in you than you do?" Damon asked. "Don't believe me. But remember it was Shelia who set you on this path. Believe your grandmother, she would never try to hurt you." Damon said softly. The sincerity in Damon's eyes calmed her nerves and quieted her fear. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the headrest. As they were crossing Wyckery Bridge, Bonnie opened her eyes.

"Damon, I need to go home. There are things I need to get." Bonnie said simply. Damon drove Bonnie to the home she shared with her father. She took a deep breath and exited the car. Damon followed her to the door, not really sure what the entry rules were since Bonnie was resurrected. When he tried to cross the threshold he was met with an invisible barrier. Bonnie turned to look at him; her expression unreadable. Damon was uncharacteristically quiet. He knew that he was the only one in their little gang that hadn't been invited into Bonnie's home and it didn't bother him, he understood. He would understand now if she turned her back and closed the door. He would be hurt but he would understand. He tried to read her face but she kept her eyes averted. When she finally looked at him he was sure she was going to say sorry and shut the door. He was shocked when she didn't. "Damon, come in." Bonnie said her voice low.

Damon stepped into Bonnie's home, her sanctuary and realized she hadn't stepped back. They were standing a breath apart and Damon was mesmerized by her eyes and intoxicated by her smell. He ran the back of his hand along her cheek. She sighed at his touch. He leaned forward and brushed his lips against her delicately. "Thank you, Bonnie." Damon said in a voice that caused Bonnie to shiver. She blinked twice and stepped away from him ending the moment that had just passed between them.

Bonnie turned and went up the stairs to her room, once inside she exhaled a breath she didn't realize she was holding. It was so confusing to her how all over the place her emotions were when it came to Damon. She remembers when all she felt for him was hate. Then it changed to mild annoyance at his presence. She realized that the day they had taken Mason Lockwood that Damon wasn't that bad and that he was going to maybe be a friend.

She hated what he did to Stefan and Elena but she knew that Elena wasn't blameless in that situation. What she didn't know was when her feelings for him had shifted so dramatically. Maybe when he had stayed on the island to bring her back. He said he did it for Elena and she had always been positive that was the reason. His recent words and action made her think that maybe that wasn't the whole truth. He had been the one who first brought up the idea to bring her back. He was her champion and not only did he bring her back, he found a way to get her magic back. It was disconcerting to her how the tone of their conversations could change in a moment. Damon was always a flirt but never with her. All that had seemed to changed since she had been back. He hadn't mentioned that kiss from the night she came back and she didn't even know if he thought about it. She thought about it, a lot, from the kiss itself to the cryptic words he said after. What did "not yet" mean? She decided that she wasn't going to waste her time trying to figure out what was going on in Damon's head.

Regaining her magic was her priority, not Damon and his confusing behavior. Bonnie gathered all the things she would need and rejoined Damon downstairs. He was standing in her living room looking at the photos of Bonnie through the years. The last being the graduation photo she took with Caroline, Elena, Matt and Tyler. No one knew that she was dead in that picture except Jeremy. But it didn't matter now, she was back and ready to get her magic back.

"Damon, I'm ready to go." Bonnie said stepping up beside him. He looked down at her and smiled. A real smile not the patented Damon smirk. Bonnie smiled back and led him from the room. Once back in the car, Bonnie broached what she knew would be a hard thing for Damon to handle. "I want to go get Matt before we go to the witch house." Bonnie said.

"For what? I'm sure he has tables to wait or floors to mop. We don't need him." Damon protested.

"I doubt the witches are going to be welcoming and I don't want them to use you as a distraction. Matt's human; they can't hurt him. You can wait outside. I'll be fine. You know I'm right."

"Maybe but I don't have to like it." Damon said resignedly. Bonnie was disappointed to find that Matt wasn't at the Grill or at home. Damon was secretly or not so secretly pleased about the development. When they pulled up in front of the boarding house Damon was disappointed to see the truck of Matt Donovan sitting outside. Damon grabbed Bonnie's arm before she could run inside. "Are you going to tell Jeremy about this? Because if not you should think of a reason why you're here instead of school." Damon told her.

"Of course Jeremy's here. He lives here. That's probably why Matt's here. Why wouldn't I tell Jeremy?" Bonnie asked.

"No reason, but you had the perfect opportunity to tell Elena and you didn't so I was just asking." Damon pointed out. Bonnie looked down and saw that Damon was still holding her arm. She pulled free of his grasp and made a step toward the front door.

"Jeremy is my boyfriend, of course I'm going to tell him." Bonnie said defensively.

"Ok, you didn't tell the person you consider your sister but you're telling your boyfriend? Where are your priorities?" Damon asked teasingly.

"My priorities are exactly where they're supposed to be. I got good news and now I'm telling my boyfriend." Bonnie stated flatly. She didn't want to joke with Damon. She felt a little guilty because she hadn't thought about Jeremy at all. Not until she was sitting in front of the boarding house. She entered the house without a look back toward Damon. Damon followed her into the house. When he entered the study, Bonnie and Jeremy were locked in a passionate embrace. He barely glanced at them and went to pour a drink. When Jeremy let her go, she hugged Matt. Damon leaned against the bookshelf watching.

"Bonnie, what are you doing here? Don't you have class?" Jeremy asked pulling her down to sit beside him.

"Aren't you glad to see me?' she asked with a pout.

"Always." Jeremy answered and kissed her pout away. "I was just wondering. It's more like Caroline or Elena to blow off class." Jeremy said kissing her again.

"I have some great news and I wanted to share it with you." Bonnie told him excitement filling her voice.

"Ok, tell me." Jeremy said glad that Bonnie was so happy. She had been quiet a lot lately and he was glad to see her so excited.

"There's a way for me to get my magic back." Bonnie said with barely contained enthusiasm.

"What?" Jeremy couldn't believe what he was hearing. "How? I thought you said there was no way."

"I didn't think there was, but Damon found a way." Bonnie said casting a grateful look at Damon. Jeremy noticed her look and his mind flashed back to the night Bonnie came back and their hug, but he shrugged it off. Damon is in love with Elena, no one else.

"Are you sure this is for the best?" Jeremy asked taking her hand.

"Of course. My magic is part of who I am. I feel lost without it." Bonnie said.

"But Bonnie, remember the lengths you went to in order to get your magic back. Thirty-six people died for you to have magic. It's not worth it." Jeremy said hoping to convince Bonnie to give up the impossible dream of getting her magic back. Bonnie pulled her hand from his grip and stood up.

"You really think I would go the Expression route again, Jer?" Bonnie said looking at him shocked. "It's nice to see how well you know me." Jeremy realized his mistake immediately and tired to back track and pull his foot from his mouth.

"No Bon. I didn't mean that. I just don't want you to put yourself at risk. You're too important," Jeremy said pleading with Bonnie. "and you never mentioned wanting your magic back. You didn't tell me Damon was looking for a way to get your magic back."

"I didn't know that he was looking until he came to me with this idea." Bonnie said with another look to Damon who just raised his glass in acknowledgment.

"Oh. How did he even know you wanted your magic back? When your best friends and your boyfriend had no idea." Jeremy asked.

"I don't know Jeremy. Ask him yourself. I certainly didn't tell him." Bonnie said not liking Jeremy's tone. Jeremy turned to look at Damon, the question in his eyes.

"Since when did you care enough to help Bonnie with something like this? What's your angle?" Jeremy asked folding his arms across his chest.

"Bonnie has always been my responsibility. I gave my word when your ancestors were busy burning hers at the stake. And since I don't walk around with my head up my ass, I noticed that our resident witchy wasn't herself. Our band of merry idiots needs everyone to play their part. So I took it upon myself to find a solution, kind of like I took it upon myself to bring her back." Damon said.

Jeremy was tired of having the same argument with people. They kept asking him why he kept her death a secret. They didn't understand that it was what Bonnie wanted. That he was only trying to do what she asked of him. He had stopped trying to justify himself to people. It wasn't worth the effort and Bonnie understood.

"Right Damon. I get it. You would have handled things differently. It doesn't matter now." Jeremy said rolling his eyes. Bonnie turned away from Jeremy.

"Matt, will you help me?" Bonnie asked expectantly. Matt wasn't sure he approved of any idea that put Bonnie at risk even if it did give her her magic back.

"I don't know, Bon. Are you going to be putting yourself in danger?" Matt asked.

"I'll be in no more danger than I've ever been living in Mystic Falls." Bonnie answered. She figured the witches would try to harm her but she wasn't worried. She knew they wouldn't kill her.

"What would I have to do?" Matt asked curious.

"Not much. Come to the witch house with me and help me set up. That's all. Damon volunteered but the witches don't really like him and he wouldn't be helping. They won't harm you because you're human." Bonnie explained. Matt nodded slowly.

"That seems easy enough. Ok, I'm in." Matt said standing to hug Bonnie.

"I'm coming along." Jeremy said rising to his feet.

"Don't bother. I'll see you when I get back." Bonnie said leaving the study. Jeremy didn't see the smug look cross Damon's features as he followed Bonnie and Matt from the house.

When the trio arrived at the witch house they stood quietly in front of it for a moment. It stood ominous, dilapidated and empty. Bonnie made a move toward the house and the two men followed. Matt entered first closely followed by Bonnie. Once she crossed the threshold she turned to look at Damon, she smiled brightly at him and moved deeper into the house. The house was different to Bonnie now that she was the Anchor. She could see the spirits of the witches who were charged with guardianship of the power. They hissed at her and told her she got what she deserved and they hoped the pain she felt was worth the defying of nature once again.

Bonnie didn't respond. She merely continued toward the basement. The last time she had been there had been with Jeremy. He had sat with her until she woke up after the plan she and Damon had come up with to get rid of Klaus. There he was again, starring in most of her memories; good and bad, but more good which still surprised Bonnie. She knew that even though Jeremy had stayed with her, Damon was the one who had cleaned her off and lit all of those candles. She had watched him from the corner while she waited to return to her body. His behavior had troubled her then and now it just warmed her insides. She and Damon were moving toward something she didn't quite understand. Something she wasn't sure she was ready for. She shook her head to clear it of thoughts of Damon and began to set up for the task at hand.

The witches had gone silent watching her work. Bonnie wasn't sure if they knew what was happening or not. She didn't want to speak and tip her hand so she continued to direct Matt silently. She knew that when they realized what was happening they would react and she wanted to be ready. After the candles were lit, she stood to her feet and was face to face with a very confused lady.

"Is this the other side?" she asked looking around. "It seems crowded." she observed seeing the guardian witches.

"I'm the door you have to pass through. Take my hand." Bonnie held her hand out and braced herself for the pain she was about to experience. When she doubled over in pain Matt rushed to her side.

"Bonnie, what's wrong? Are they hurting you? If they are we can leave right now!" Matt said holding Bonnie in his arms. She pulled herself to her feet.

"That wasn't the witches, Matt. Although they did take pleasure in my pain. Every time a supernatural being passes through me I feel their pain. It's a consequence of being the Anchor." Bonnie explained. Matt nodded his head slowly and smiled at her.

"I wish you didn't have to deal with that, Bon." Matt said hugging her tightly. "You deserve better."

"Thanks Matt. I really appreciate that." Bonnie said returning his hug. She pulled from his arms and began lighting the candles she had brought with her. In a bowl, she placed clover, ground Angelica Root, dried sage and dried Valerian root. She took a deep breath and threw a match into the bowl. As the smoke began to drift up the witches began to react. They started to move in on Bonnie and touch her and with each touch she experienced the pain of their passings. Bonnie knew the witches would try something to stop her. She knew she was on the right track when they began torturing her. Matt looked on in horror as unseen foes attacked Bonnie.

He made a move toward her but she held up her hand and shook her head no, Matt halted but vowed he wouldn't keep letting them hurt her. He would drag her out first. Through her tears, Bonnie could see Emily and her beloved Grams, both were being tortured before Bonnie's eyes.

"Call on the power, Bonnie." Emily said through tortured screams.

"Go ahead, baby. You can do it!" Shelia said between screams. Bonnie closed her eyes and began to chant.

"Ego voco vos. Eximo mea divintas. Ego voco vos. Exmio mea divintas." Bonnie felt the house begin to shake and she concentrated harder and kept chanting. Outside the wind began to howl and lightening cracked the sky. Inside Bonnie continued to chant. Rain pounded down outside and Damon could hear the wailing of the witches. Bonnie continued to chant and she felt magic surrounding her. She saw the witches torturing Emily and Shelia disappear and she felt stronger. She kept chanting and she felt the witches grabbing at her. She chanted louder to be heard over the roar of the wind and the rattling of the house. Suddenly the candles' flames grew exponentially and Bonnie was floating. Matt could feel the magic pulsating. Bonnie had stopped chanting but the wind was still howling outside. Then as suddenly as it all started it all stopped and Bonnie came crashing to the floor. Matt rushed to her side immediately.

"Bonnie! Bonnie wake up!" Matt yelled. Outside, Damon hear dMatt yelling and without thought ran into the house. He found Matt cradling Bonnie in his arms. Damon fell to his knees beside her.

"What happened?" Damon struggled to speak. Matt told him everything that he knew which wasn't much because all he could see was Bonnie and not what was happening on the other side.

"I can still hear her heart beating. It's faint but steady. I'm taking her back to the boarding house." Damon lifted Bonnie in his arms and used his vampire speed and left Matt in the basement of the house.

Stefan and Jeremy were sitting in the study when Damon flew into the house with Bonnie in his arms. Stefan ran upstairs to find Damon putting Bonnie in the bed in the room directly across the hall from Damon's.

"Damon, what happened?" Stefan asked his brow wrinkled with worry. Damon repeated what Matt had told him while brushing the hair from Bonnie's face. He was facing the door when Jeremy burst into the room. He scowled at Damon and rushed to Bonnie's side.

"What did you do, Damon?" Jeremy said with barely veiled anger.

"I didn't do anything, Jeremy." Damon spat back.

"Really!? Because when you left this house Bonnie was awake and perfectly fine and how you're carrying her back in. It seems like you did something!" Jeremy snarled, rising to his feet. Damon was growing tired of Jeremy trying to scare him by flexing his hunter muscles. Just because Jeremy had the strength to kill him didn't mean he could. Stefan stepped between the two of them before the situation got out of hand.

"Calm down. Jeremy don't do this here. Bonnie's heart is beating. Something like this causes lots of stress on a person's body. Her being unconscious is just a way of her body protecting itself. She'll wake up but fighting with Damon won't help." Stefan said in a soothing voice; Jeremy nodded stiffly and sat on the edge of Bonnie's bed and held her hand.

A week later Bonnie still hadn't woken up. Caroline and Elena had both been told and both had been taking turns staying at the boarding house. Damon had been irritable and when asked what his problem was he said there were too many people in his house. The truth was he was feeling guilty for convincing Bonnie to try to get her magic back.

Later that night after Elena finally convinced Jeremy to sleep in his own room; Damon found himself sitting beside Bonnie on her bed. He held her hand and stroked her knuckles gently. He was looking out into the black night when his attention was drawn to the sight of Bonnie's hand gripping his hand tightly.

"Damon, where am I?" she whispered as she sat up in the bed.

"The boarding house." he answered back quietly. "How do you feel?" he asked as he searched her face. Her answer was to light the candles that were placed around the room. Damon looked at the lit candles and smiled. "Welcome back, little witch."

 


	5. Let's Go, Little Witch

 Bonnie smiled and launched herself into Damon's arms, hugging him tightly. He hugged her back, marveling at how well she fit in his arms. He found himself wondering what he waiting for, then reality crept into his mind in the form of Elena and Jeremy Gilbert. He knew Bonnie wouldn't want to hurt either of them and that meant it wasn't their time yet. Bonnie was the one who broke their hug. She pulled back and smiled shyly.

“Thank you, Damon.” Bonnie said her voice full of emotion and gratitude. 

“You don't have to thank me. I didn't do anything.” Damon said caressing her cheek. Bonnie felt them teetering into that unknown, unexplored thing between them. As much as she wanted to fall headlong into it with him she knew she couldn't; not yet. There were so many things that had to be considered before she thought about the conflicting emotions that Damon made her feel. Damon watched her emotions flicker across her face. Confusion, gratitude, lust, happiness, security and guilt. When he saw the guilt he did what he knew was right. He stood up from her bed and walked toward the door.

“I'll let the rest of the gang know you're awake.” Damon said with a small smile as he exited the candle let bedroom. He entered his room and found Elena laying on his bed asleep. As he watched her, he wondered when his feelings for her had changed so dramatically. He still cared for her deeply but he knew he wasn't in love with her. He wondered if he had ever been truly in love with her. He realized that he had loved Elena but he knew the love he felt for her paled next to how he knew Stefan still felt about her. And he know the love he felt for Elena could never measure up to how felt about Bonnie. It wasn't anyone's fault, it was just how things happened. He wasn't sure what was next but he was ready to face it. He learned over and shook Elena.

“Hey, Elena wake up. Bonnie's awake!” Damon said to a groggy Elena.

“Really, that's great!” she said jumping from the bed and rushing toward the door. Elena crossed the hallway and knocked on the door. Bonnie opened the door by magic and watched as her best friend Elena Gilbert rushed in. “Oh Bonnie. I'm so glad you're ok. We were so worried about you.” Bonnie smiled at Elena and hugged her.

“Thank you. I'm sorry I worried anybody.” Bonnie said. Elena hugged Bonnie again and watched as Bonnie cut open a pillow. Just like the first time Bonnie had showed Elena her magic Elena looked on in awe as feathers floated around the room.

“Bonnie, it worked! You got your magic back.” Elena said happily. Bonnie smiled and nodded with tears in her eyes. Elena hugged her again and both girls were crying. Caroline came in to the room and seeing her friends in tears immediately began to cry.

“What's wrong? Why are we crying?” Caroline asked through her tears.

“Nothing is wrong Care. These are happy tears. Bonnie's awake and her magic is fully restored.” Elena said wiping her eyes.

“Oh, that's so great! I'm so happy for you, Bon! Where's Jeremy? I thought he'd be here celebrating with you.” Caroline said wiping her tears even though more kept covering her lashes. 

“Jeremy is coming in after we all leave. So he and Bonnie can be alone.” Stefan said as he and Matt entered the room. Both men sat down on Bonnie's bed. Matt hugged Bonnie tightly.

“Bon, I'm so glad you're ok! I was so worried about you. You really scared me.” Matt said in her ear.

“I'm sorry Matt, but it's ok now. I'm fine and my magic is back. Don't worry.” Bonnie said with a smile. 

“So everything the old witch in New Orleans told Damon and I was the truth? I can admit now that I had my doubts about her. I'm glad to know they were unfounded.” Stefan said with a soft smile at Bonnie. They all turned toward the door as Jeremy entered the room. He smiled a relieved smile and moved toward the bed. Her friends and hugged her and left her alone with Jeremy.

“Bon, I'm glad you're awake. How are you feeling?” Jeremy asked taking her hand.

“I'm fine. I feel more like myself than I have in months.” Bonnie said pulling her hand free.

“Bonnie are you still mad?” Please let me explain.” Jeremy pleaded.

“What's to explain? You didn't want me to be a witch again.” Bonnie said flatly.

“No. I didn't want you to put yourself in danger.” Jeremy tried to explain.

“You never gave me the chance to tell what Damon's plan was; you automatically were against it. That hurt.” Bonnie said quietly.

“I'm sorry Bonnie. I never meant to hurt you. I just want you to be safe.” Jeremy said caressing her face. Bonnie leaned into the caress and sighed. Jeremy leaned in and kissed her deeply. When he tried to push Bonnie to the bed she broke their kiss. 

“Jer, I'm tired.” Bonnie told him with a soft peck to his lips. 

“Ok, I'm so glad you're alright.” Jeremy said as he climbed into bed beside her pulling her close.

The next morning, Bonnie awoke still in Jeremy's arms. She eased from his embrace and made her way downstairs. She found Damon in the kitchen at the stove, kitchen towel over his shoulder. She watched him until he spoke.

“I'm going to get a complex if you keep staring at me, witchy.” Damon said with a smirk on his lips.

“Sorry. It still shocks me that you can cook.” Bonnie said with a chuckle.

“Oh well it's one of the many things I do well.” Damon said with a wiggle of his eyebrows. Bonnie ducked her head to hide the blush that crept into her cheeks. Damon seeing her blush decided to change the subject.

“Should you be out of bed? You just woke up.” Damon said concern creeping into his voice.

“Be careful Damon, I might start to think you care.” Bonnie said.

“We wouldn't want that, would we.” Damon said repeating a conversation they'd had before. Bonnie smiled surprised that he'd remembered the conversation.

“But honestly, I feel fine. I guess I should feel tired or something but I don't.” Bonnie said shrugging her shoulders. Damon put a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon and home fries down at the island and motioned for Bonnie to sit. She sat down and began to eat. While she was having her breakfast, Elena entered the kitchen. She kissed Damon on the lips and sat down beside Bonnie as Damon set a plate in front of her.

“Bonnie how are you feeling?” Elena asked concern in her brown eyes.

“I feel fine. I feel more like myself than I have since I've been back.” Bonnie said with a smile. 

“I'm so glad, Bon. Don't worry about school. Caroline and I compelled all of you professors to believe you've been in class for the past week.” Elena said smiling.

“Thanks, I think.” Bonnie said with a laugh. The laughter died on Bonnie's lips as she saw a handsome man over Elena's shoulder. Damon saw Bonnie's gaze drift and he knew she was seeing a dead supernatural being. He knew she wanted to keep her secret so he improvised.

“Elena, wake everybody up. They can get breakfast and then they can get out of my house.” Damon said rudely. When Elena left the kitchen Bonnie spoke to the man only she could see.

“Hello.” Bonnie said climbing down from her stool.

“Where am I?” the young man asked.

“What are you?” Bonnie asked.

“I'm not anything.” he said to Bonnie backing away from her.

“It's ok. I'm a witch. What were you doing before you show up here?” Bonnie asked patiently.

“I'm dead, aren't I?” he asked sadly.

“Yes. I'm sorry. I'm the door to the other side. Touch me, you will pass on.” she said holding out her hand. He touched Bonnie's hand and she fell to her knees in pain. Damon rushed to her side and helped her to her feet.

“First order of business now that you got your witchy juju back, making someone else the anchor.” Damon said as he brushed her tears away.

“No. I could never put another person through this pain.” Bonnie said as she returned to her seat. 

Damon was about to argue with her as the rest of the Scooby gang entered the kitchen. Bonnie finished her breakfast, glad that her friends had interrupted what was sure to be a fight with Damon.

When Bonnie left the boarding house a few days later she was glad to get away. Between Damon trying to convinced her to move the Anchor to someone else and Jeremy trying to get her into bed. Bonnie was exhausted. She was glad to be back on campus where Jeremy wasn't waiting around every corner trying to seduce her. It's not that she didn't love Jeremy because she did but she wasn't exactly clamoring to sleep with him. She just didn't feel like the time was right and especially not in a house full of vampires. 

Bonnie tried to tell herself that those reasons were the real reasons she was avoiding intimacy with her boyfriend. Nothing could ever get Bonnie to admit that the real reason she couldn't give herself to Jeremy was Damon.

Damon that she had kissed a grand total of two times. The second time was barely a kiss. She hoped that being back at Whitmore would make things easier. And for a few days things were easier, until Stefan called Caroline to tell her Matt was missing. The three girls dropped everything and rushed to Mystic Falls. They all met at the Lockwood estate.

“What's going on?” Elena asked.

“We told you. Busboy is missing.” Damon said rolling his eyes. 

“Not the time to be you Damon.” Caroline said with venom

“Stop it, both of you!” Bonnie said. “Tell us what's going on.”

“Matt, hasn't been to work in two days and he's not answering his phone.” Jeremy supplied.

“Are you guys sure he didn't just skip off to New Orleans to see Rebekah?” Elena asked hopefully.

“Yeah. I called Rebekah. She said that she hasn't talked to him.” Stefan told them.

“He's alive, stop looking so damn sad.” Damon said to the girls.

“You don't know that, Damon!” Elena said tearfully.

“I do know. One, he has the Gilbert ring. Two if he were dead, Stefan and I would have been inside looking for clues but neither of us had been invited in since Tyler gave him this house, ergo alive.” Damon said with a shrug.

“Then what are we waiting for?” Caroline said as she used her vampire speed to run into the house. She was followed my Bonnie and Jeremy. Elena, Stefan and Damon set off to search the grounds.

After the search yielded nothing, they went back to the boarding house. Upon entering the study Damon cleared the table and put a map of the United States on it and motioned Bonnie to the table.

“What?” Bonnie asked.

“Locator spell, witchy. Do it.” Damon said.

“I can't do a locator spell without the blood of a relative.” Bonnie said. “Mission impossible.”

“Maybe not.” Jeremy spoke up.

“How Jeremy?” Stefan asked confused.

“Can we use Matt's blood instead of a relative?” he asked.

“If we had the busboy's blood we'd know where he is.” Damon snapped. Jeremy ignored Damon and looked at Bonnie. 

“Yeah, it would work. Why?” Bonnie said.

“Matt donates blood regularly. So there should be plenty of his blood at the blood bank.” Jeremy told her. Before anyone could make a move Rebekah breezed into the study.

“Do you people ever knock?” Damon said with an eyeroll. Rebekah looked at Damon then ignored him. 

“Where is Matt?” she asked Stefan.

“We don't know. We're trying to find him. Bonnie's going to do a locator spell to find him.” Stefan told her.

“Don't let me stop you.” Rebekah said with a look to Bonnie.

“I need blood from a relative to do the spell. But since he doesn't have anyone, I'm going to use use his blood that's at the blood bank as soon as someone goes and gets it.” Bonnie explained. Before anyone could say anything, Rebekah was gone. 

A little while later Rebekah returned and tossed Bonnie a blood bag with Matt's name on it. As Bonnie prepared to do the spell she realized it was the first she'd done since gaining her magic back. She pushed the apprehension and fear to the side and began to chant.

“Fes matos tribum nas ex viros

Sequitas sajuines

Ementas asten mihan ega petous”

She opened her eyes and watched the map burn until one spot was left. She looked down at it and read out, “St. Louis, Missouri. What's he doing there?”

“Who cares? We got a plane to catch.” Caroline said as she and Elena rose to their feet. When they stepped off the plane, the gang had no idea where to start. They checked into their hotel and then gathered in Damon's ridiculously lavish suite.

“Where do we start?” Elena asked the room at large.

“No idea.” Stefan said.

“I have no idea how Matt got here. Or who has him.” Bonnie said concerned.

“I know a witch here who might be able to help.” Damon said.

“Corraine won't help you.” Stefan said seriously.

“Maybe not but she'll help Bonnie.” Damon said getting a drink from the mini bar.

“We have to try.” Bonnie said standing.

“I'll come too.” Stefan said. “Corraine always liked me.” The three of them left the hotel to see Corraine. When they arrived at the house Bonnie immediately felt the witch's power. This was new for her and she wondered if it had anything to do with the power from the other side. When the group reached the porch the door swung open.

“Damon Salvatore, as I live and breathe. No thanks to you, I might add.” she sneered looking at Damon.

“Corriane, that was so long ago. Can't we move past it?” he asked in mock sincerity.

“No! Stefan it's good to see you. Who's this?” she asked eying bonnie. She could sense her power and she wondered about the young witch the Salvatore brother had ensnared. 

“That's Bonnie.” Damon said before Stefan or Bonnie could answer. Bonnie stepping forward and held out her hand. Corriane shook it and felt the power coursing through Bonnie. She wondered if the young witch know what power she possessed and if she could steal it from her. When they released each other's hands, Bonnie stepped back. Inside her head she had heard Corriane contemplate trying to steal her magic. Damon looked at Bonnie realizing that something was wrong.

“Bonnie, what is it?” he asked. Bonnie didn't answer. She just looked at the witch in from of her. Corriane felt immediately uncomfortable. The young witch's unfriendly gaze was piercing. She tried to ignore it by finding out why they were there.

“Why are you here, Damon?” she asked.

“Just looking for some information.” he said easily. He pushed past her and entered into the house followed closely by Stefan. Bonnie followed the two vampires on high alert. 

“What kind of information?” she asked avoiding Bonnie's eyes.

“A friend of ours has been kidnapped. A locator spell led us here...”Stefan started.

“And before I burst in and save the day I want to know what I'm up against.” Damon said shrugging.

“I don't know anything.” she said.

“Liar.” Bonnie and Damon said simultaneously.

“I'm not. I don't know anything.” Corriane said her voice wavering. There was a powerful vampire in St. Louis who had her perform a blocking spell; so that no locator spell could tract the human he was holding until he was ready for him to be found. Now it seemed like the spell hadn't worked and she was afraid of what Vladimir would do to her.

“Stefan, you have to help me.” she said to the younger Salvatore.

“A vampire named Vladimir had me do a spell. A blocking spell so no magic could track the human he holds.” she said.

“Is this him?” Bonnie said showing Corriane a picture of her and Matt.

“Yes, that's him.” Corriane confirmed.

“Where is he?” Damon asked menacingly. Corriane began to cry.

“I don't know. But if he finds out you're here looking for him, he'll kill me.” The knowledge that Corriane's life was in danger didn't phase Damon for a moment. The part where he thought about her having to go through Bonnie affected him more than he would like to admit. Damon schooled his features to a mask of indifference.

“So?” he asked in a bored tone. Stefan looked to Bonnie for help but found her less than forth coming. She wasn't feeling very benevolent toward the woman who wanted her magic.

“Corriane, we'll help you, but you have to help us.” Stefan said.

“Ok, Vladimir had me taken to a large house on the outside of St. Louis. I don't know where it is, I was blindfolded. There are no other houses around.” she said. 

“Thank you.” Stefan said rising and following Damon and Bonnie from the house. When they got back to the hotel the gang and Rebekah were waiting for them.

“Corriane said that a vampire named Vladimir was holding Matt.” Stefan told them.

“Who is he?” Elena asked looking from Stefan to Damon. 

“No idea.” Stefan shrugged looking at Damon.

“Don't look at me.” Damon said sprawling gracefully onto the couch beside Elena.

“If you tow aren't the reason he took Matt then who is?” Caroline asked her brow furrowed.

“Your witch is lying.” Rebekah said haughtily.

“Why?” Bonnie asked.

“Because what she said is impossible. My brother killed Vladimir a long time ago.” Rebekah said shortly.

“Apparently he didn't. And that means he took our resident bus boy to lure you out.” Damon surmised.

“And you're going to do whatever you can to get him back.” Bonnie said her voice steely. “Damon, I need a map of Missouri please.” He put the map and candles on the table. Bonnie used Matt's blood again and did the spell. When the map burned away a township on the outside of the city remained. “We go tonight.” Bonnie said authoritatively.

The night descended and they made their way to the house where Matt was being held. The house sat in the middle of an open field. There was no way to sneak up to the house without being seen.

“I say we send Original Vampire Barbie to the front door.” Damon suggested. “She's who he wants.”

“Why is he trying to punish you?” Jeremy asked.

“My brothers and I lived here many years ago. Niklaus ruled St. Louis much like the way he ruled New Orleans. Vladimir was a rival.” she said.

“And let me guess. He seduced you and you tried to help him topple your brother.” Damon deadpanned.

“When Nik found out that I was helping him, he daggered me and killed Vladimir.” she finished.

“As he should have.” Caroline said under her breathe.

“Did you see him kill Vladimir?” Elena asked.

“No, but he told me that he had done it.” Rebekah said.

“Maybe he lied.” Stefan said gently. 

“Buy why is he after you and not Klaus?” Bonnie asked.

“If this is him it's because he feels I betrayed him. I told Elijah of Vladimir's plan. He told Nik the plan and my part in it; then he left St. Louis saying he was disappointed in me and Nik. I was upset and before I could warn Vladimir, Nik had daggered me and attacked Vladimir. When he removed the dagger he told me Vladimir was dead.” Rebekah said.

“He's obviously been watching you if he knew Matt was important to you.” Stefan said thoughtfully.

“Doesn't matter. How are we getting in there, getting the busboy and getting out?” Damon as briskly.

“He doesn't know we know where he is, so we still have the element of surprise.” Jeremy said.

“True.” Stefan said. “I'm sure Matt's the only on inside with a heartbeat; follow it 'til we find him.”

“No, he's not.” Bonnie said. “There's a witch inside. It's Corriane. I don't know if she'd being held or if she volunteered to be here but I can feel her energy.” Bonnie told them. 

“Ok. New plan. We rush the house. Get the busboy. Leave the witch to Bonnie.” Damon said turning toward the house. Jeremy moved to Bonnie's side.

“Are you ok? Can you handle this?” Jeremy asked. Bonnie shot him a look and quirked her eyebrows.

“Your fait in my ablities warms my heart.” she said coldly. Jeremy stepped back from the venom in her voice. Damon smirked at Bonnie and she smiled in return.

“Let's go, little witch.” Damon said as he and Bonnie set off across the vast lawn.


	6. Good Job, Little Witch

Damon reached the house first and kicked in the door. He entered followed closely by Bonnie, everyone else behind them. Vampires swarmed them. Damon wasted no time.

"Caroline, Elena, Rebekah find Matt. Get him out of here." Damon said as he snatched the heart of the vampire in front of him. Jeremy tried to stay close to Bonnie to keep her save but there were too many vampires. Stefan and Damon were fighting and using the stakes they had brought along but they both found that snatching hearts was much quicker. Bonnie made her way through the house following Corraine's energy.

She was attacked along the way by a vampire who she gave an aneurysm to and while they were down she made his heart explode. Bonnie found Corraine in a room with her friends and Rebekah. Matt was tied to a chair, he looked beat up but ok. Her friends on the other hand were down on their knees in agony, and she had incapacitated Rebekah by snapping her neck.

Bonnie used her magic to send Corraine flying across the room. With her distracted, Elena and Caroline were free to untie Matt. He picked Rebekah up from the floor and they left Bonnie alone with Corraine.

"Where's Vladimir?" Bonnie asked the woman.

"Don't worry about that. It won't matter because you'll be dead soon." Corraine said with contempt. She threw a spell at Bonnie but she redirected the blast causing the windows to break in the room. Bonnie and Corraine circled each other.

"Give up, Bonnie. You're no match for me." the older witch said as she tried to take Bonnie's breath away.

"If I'm no match for you why do you want to steal my magic" Bonnie asked as she held Corraine against the wall with magic. Corraine tried to fight back but Bonnie was too strong.

"Come on Corraine. Steal my magic. That was your plan wasn't it?" Bonnie said letting Corraine free. She again tried to subdue Bonnie with magic, but it didn't work. Behind her Stefan and Damon came flying into the room followed by two tall imposing men.

Corraine used the distraction to blindside Bonnie with a spell that help her captive against the wall. One of the new vampires picked up Stefan and snapped his neck and then he fled. The other who Bonnie could only assume was Vladimir, simply held Damon. Bonnie could see there was a piece of wood protruding from his chest. She knew it was up to her to save herself and the Salvatore brothers. She closed her eyes and concentrated. The wind started to howl and the lights inside started to flicker. Corraine could feel the power pulsating. She closed her eyes and began to try to siphon Bonnie's magic. Bonnie felt the intrusion immediately. She heard Corraine chanting in her head. Bonnie wondered how many witches she had stolen from and decided she had to be stopped. Corraine's eyes snapped open.

"Stop it, Corraine. Leave my magic alone. You can't have or handle it." Bonnie said calmly.

"You insolent little girl. So new to the craft. How dare you tell me what I can or can't handle." Corraine seethed.

"My magic is too strong for anyone other than someone of my bloodline to hold." Bonnie told her.

"You're self importance is astounding. Too much time with Damon, I'd wager." the witch spat out.

"No, I have the powers of every witch of my line that have crossed to the other side. I have all the powers of the Bennett witches." Bonnie said proudly. "An I won't allow you to steal from any other witches." she said. Bonnie closed her eyes and before Corraine knew it she could feel her power draining.

"What are you doing to me?" Corriane cried.

"Returning what you stole." Bonnie said. When she could feel that Corraine's powers were her own, she stripped those as well and sent them to the other side. She couldn't risk the devious witch stealing more power and coming after her or anyone she loved. She saw Corraine fall to her knees in in anguish.

"How dare you?" Corraine accused Bonnie. "Give them back." she demanded.

"No, you are a thief and a disgrace to witches. Get out of here." Bonnie said fiercely. Corriane looked at her one last time before she fled. Bonnie turned to her attention to Vladimir and Damon.

"Vladimir, let him go. It's over. You lost your witch. You lost your hostage. It's over!" Bonnie said.

"Never." he said in a thick Russian accent. "Rebekah will pay for this." he said.

"Killing Damon won't effect her at all." Bonnie said.

"Then give me the human back." Vladimir said.

"No, I'm not doing that either." Bonnie said. "Let him go." she said again. He pushed Damon to the floor and came after her, teeth bared. Bonnie stopped with a searing pain to his head. She used magic to pull the wood from Damon's chest and then she sent it straight to Vladimir's heart. She watched as she died before her eyes.

Bonnie moved over to Damon to help him up. He was hurting but it was nothing a little O negative couldn't fix. He checked Bonnie for injuries and not finding any he pulled her into a tight hug. He looked and saw Stefan was still out so he leaned in and kissed Bonnie passionately.

"Good job, little witch."

 


	7. I'm Here For You, Little Witch

When Stefan got up from the floor he noticed the tension in the room but neither Damon or Bonnie seemed angry.

"Everything all right?" Stefan asked as he got to his feet.

"Everything is fine." Bonnie said stepping away from Damon, realizing how close they had come to being caught in their undefinable thing.

"Ok, let's get out of here." he said moving toward the door. Damon made to follow but turned back when she saw Bonnie hadn't taken a step.

"Bon, what's wrong?" Damon asked stepping toward her. He touched her arm and followed her gaze. He saw nothing but he saw the horror on Bonnie's face. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"They are all waiting?" Damon said as statement not a question. "Bon, I'm so sorry. I'll stay with you until it's over." he said moving closer to her.

"Thank you." she said quietly.

"What's going on?" Stefan asked.

"Nothing." Bonnie said quickly.

"It's not nothing. Damon said. "But Bonnie would prefer you didn't see it." he said.

"See what?" Stefan asked confused.

"Stefan, you were in New Orleans, you remember that witch said Bonnie was having trouble with being the Anchor." Damon said. Stefan nodded. "The problem is she feels the pain of their deaths. We just slaughtered a houseful of supernaturals. They have to cross over." Damon explained.

"I'm so sorry, Bonnie. What can I do?" Stefan asked with sympathetic eyes.

"You can go outside and stall. Tell them Bonnie and I are making a final sweep of the house and we'll see them at the hotel. After I get rid of the bodies." Damon said. Stefan nodded and moved toward the door; he turned before he left and saw his brother wrap his arms around Bonnie's waist from behind as she reached for something that Stefan could see. He watched as Bonnie's face distorted in pain and Damon held on supporting her. Stefan wasn't sure what he was witnessing but as he left the house he felt like he was intruding on a private intimate moment between Bonnie and his brother.

"Where's Bonnie?" Jeremy asked when Stefan emerged from the house.

"Where's Damon?" Elena asked looking behind Stefan.

"They're doing a final sweep of the house and then Bonnie said she would us her magic to help Damon get rid of the bodies and they would meet us back at the hotel." Stefan said hoping the Gilbert siblings would believe him.

"But Bonnie's ok?" Jeremy asked.

"She's fine." Stefan lied. He knew that Bonnie wasn't ok but he knew Damon had things well in hand. Elena cast a look back at the house before she got into the rental car to go back to the hotel.

Damon held Bonnie as her small frame was bombarded with pain. As soon as the pain from one would subside she was encountered by another.

"How many more, Bonnie?" Damon whispered in her ear.

"Just three. Don't let me go!" she pleaded.

"Never." he answered with a kiss to the top of her head. He help her tighter as she sobbed. Finally her sobs subsided and her breathing returned to normal. "How do you feel?" he asked wiping the tears from her face.

"Tired but ok." she said with a small smile. He looked around the room and asked her the obvious question.

"What do we do with the bodies?"

"Bring them all in here." she said. Damon didn't question her. He just started moving bodies. Bonnie helped by using her power to float them into the room. When Damon dropped the last body onto the pile he had man he stood waiting.

"Now what?" he asked curious about what his little witch was up to. She didn't answer, she just stared at the pile of vampire corpses until they burst into flames. She back away pulling Damon out of the room as the flames began to rage out of control. The two of them stood watching the house burn until they heard the fire engines in the distance.

When Bonnie and Damon returned to the suite Bonnie rushed to Matt's side. She hugged him tightly.

"Are you ok, Matt?" she asked.

"I'm fine. Thanks Bonnie. Caroline said you were the one who found me." Matt said with gratitude.

"You're welcome, but it was a group effort." Bonnie said deflection some of the attention away from herself.

"Don't be modest, Bonnie. It's 'cause of you busboy isn't dead." Damon said raising his in toast.

"I'm being modest. I'm not the only one who found him. Plus, I don't do things so people can tell me I'm awesome." Bonnie told Damon with an eye roll.

"Right, whatever Bonnie. Stop pretending you're not as vain as the rest of us." Damon prodded.

"The rest of us who? The only self-absorbed ass I see in the room is you." Bonnie said her temper rising. It surprised and pleased her that she and Damon could still argue and bicker like they had before the undefinable thing they had showed up.

"You guys. Please stop fighting." Elena said batting her eyelashes. "We get it. You don't like each other. Why do you have to constantly remind us?" Stefan looked between Bonnie and his brother and after seeing what he had seen earlier he wasn't sure what was between them but he knew it wasn't hate or dislike even.

After allowing Matt to get a good night's sleep and saying goodbye to Rebekah, the gang boarded a plane back to Mystic Falls. When Stefan and Damon were alone in the boarding house, Stefan decided to confront Damon about Bonnie.

"What's going on between you and Bonnie?" Stefan asked not beating around the bush. To say the question caught Damon off guard was and understatement. He recovered quickly.

"Nothing. Why?" Damon asked.

"Damon, I saw how you were holding her back in that house. So what is going on?" he asked again.

"Nothing. When a supernatural being crosses over Bonnie can barely stand during it. I knew she would need the help staying upright. Don't read anything into it." Damon said.

"Ok. How do you know about what Bonnie goes through?" Stefan asked. "It's not as if you're her confidant."

"I found out by accident. She hasn't told anyone else other than Matt and that's just because he also saw by accident." Damon informed Stefan.

"Damon, I know what I saw and it looked like more than a friend helping out another friend." Stefan baldly.

"That's ridiculous, Stefan. Judgy and I are friends, barely." Damon said with an eye-roll. Stefan didn't believe him but he had no proof. He knew that Damon thought that he wanted to out him to Elena but that wasn't the case. Stefan had always secretly thought that his brother and Bonnie would be good for each other. He had hoped his brother would realize it before he ruined his relationship with Elena. But Stefan could accept and acknowledge that Damon had to grow up to be with Bonnie and if Elena was what he needed to realize that Bonnie was his forever; Stefan didn't want to begrudge him that. He also realized that Damon and Bonnie weren't ready to tell the world about them, so he would keep his thoughts and opinions to himself.

"Sorry, I mentioned it." Stefan said apologetically.

"Whatever." Damon muttered. There was no way he was telling anyone; especially Stefan how he felt about Bonnie. He wasn't interested in listening to Stefan tell him he wasn't good enough for her. He knew that but he couldn't help himself.

A few days later, Bonnie found herself at the boarding house waiting for Elena. She had been avoiding the place like the plague. It was easy to ignore Damon outside of Mystic Falls, ignoring him in his house was a different story entirely.

"Hey Bon!" Damon said as she entered the study.

"Hi." she said. She hated all the feeling that jumped to the surface when he was close by. She was able to control her heart rate but it didn't matter, she knew Damon could look into her eyes and see her feelings.

"Could you tell Elena I'm here?" Bonnie said wanting her friend to come downstairs and leave with her.

"Elena's not here. Oh, did you get that text? It was from me. We have something to discuss and I knew you wouldn't come over if I asked." Damon said earnestly. Bonnie began to panic. She wasn't ready to talk about their kiss in St. Louis.

"No, we don't. I can believe you faked a text to get me here." Bonnie said feigning anger.

"Get over it. I don't to fight with you." he sighed. I just want to talk to you." he said.

"About what?" she asked meeting his sparkling blue eyes.

"St. Louis." he said emphatically.

"Ok." she said taking a deep breath.

"That can't happen again." he said. Bonnie's heart plummeted. She knew that she shouldn't be so very disappointed. She couldn't help it though. Damon's kisses made her feel alive and cherished in a way Jeremy's kisses never had. She felt guilt at her train of thought. Damon had expected anger or at least a small hint of annoyance at his statement. She had been adamant about not making someone else the Anchor and now she was sitting there looking guilty. He didn't understand the guilt. "Bonnie, say something." he urged.

"What's to say?" she asked not looking at him. He grabbed her chin and made her look at him. Her expression shocked and dismayed him. She rose from her seat and made to leave. He stopped her by grabbing her wrist. He stood in front of her and tried to read her expression. He leaned down to kiss her and was shocked when she pushed angrily away.

"No! You can't just tell me that can't happen then try to kiss me. It's too confusing." she said yelling. Damon looked at her confused. Then he realized that she had thought that he meant stopping whatever collision course the two of them were on.

"Bonnie, calm down. Listen to me." he said.

"No you listen! You're not being fair. You started all of this the night I came back and you've been the one to initiate it every time. You can't just stop without telling me why it even started." Bonnie fumed.

"Bonnie!" Damon yelled. "I was talking about you being the Anchor. I can't watch you go through that kind of torture again. So we need a plan." he said lowering his voice.

"Oh!" Bonnie said her cheeks tinged pink. "Sorry for yelling but I told you I'm not switching the Anchor status to someone else. That's not fair and I don't know what it would do to me." she explained. She would never let Damon know how high her heart soared when he told her that he meant her status as Anchor, not their "relationship" status.

"What do you mean? What it would do to you?" Damon asked confused.

"Damon, I don't think I'm really alive. I think. I don't know, it's complicated." she said flustered.

"How are you not alive? I hear your heartbeat, Bonnie." he said getting more and more confused by the minute.

"Damon, I'm the bridge between two worlds. Part of me here and part of me there. If I stop being the bridge I don't know what happens to the two parts of me." she explained.

"Ok, so let's find out. Who can you ask?" Damon asked.

"I don't know. This has never happened before." Bonnie said sadly.

"What about your grams or Emily? Do you think they can help?" Damon asked pacing in front of her.

"I mean maybe, they know about the power maybe they can help." she said skeptically.

"Ok, how do you contact them?" he asked.

"I don't. Grams usually come to me, but I've never sought her out. I don't even really know how to contact the other side." she said shrugging.

"We need to think of something." he said still pacing.

"I guess we could do a séance." she said hesitantly.

"Bon, that's brilliant. When?" he asked with a smile.

"Tonight, I guess." she said returning his smile tentatively.

Bonnie entered the boarding house just as night fell. Damon was waiting for her standing by the bar.

"Hi." she said shyly.

"Hey Bon." he said with a sexy smirk that made Bonnie's stomach flutter. She opened her bag and took out about six candles. She put the candles onto the table and Damon watched as one by on they lit up. He loved watching her do magic, he always had. Her skin glowed and he could smell the power coming from her; to say it was intoxicating was a disservice.

He sat in silence as she concentrated. As he watched the flames shot up and the room became cold. When the flame went back to normal Shelia Bennett was standing in the glow of the candles.

"Bonnie, child, what is it?" she asked her granddaughter. Bonnie opened her eyes pleased to see her grandmother.

"Grams, I'm so glad to see you." Bonnie said using to hug the older woman.

"I'm happy to see you too, sweetie. Is something wrong?" Shelia asked as she show a look at the silent vampire in the corner.

"No, but I wanted to ask you a question." Bonnie said quietly.

"Go ahead and ask." she said.

"If I was to transfer the Anchor to something else, what would happen to me?" she asked her grandmother.

"Bonnie, you are in two pieces. The part that lives here on this side and then the part that resides on the other side. Before you transfer the Anchor you must unite the two parts of you." her grandmother explained slowly.

"How do I do that?" Bonnie asked. Shelia hesitated but decided to give her granddaughter the answers she sought.

"You must find your spirit self on the other side. When you find her all you have to do is touch her and you will be united on this side." she said.

"That seems too easy. What's the catch?" Bonnie asked.

"The other side is full of perils. You must not go alone. It is too dangerous. The witches are not pleased they think you stole from them and even though that is not the case. They will try to hinder you. All manner of creature will try to harm you. If your corporeal body is harmed mortally you will remain trapped. Once you find your essence from this side and reunite you can move the Anchor." her grandmother further explained.

"Ok, I understand but how do I get to the other side and how do I bring someone along?" Bonnie asked.

"The same way you tricked the Original into thinking you were dead. And the only way to bring someone along is if they die and crossover." she said.

"No, no one is going to die for me." Bonnie said adamantly. "I go by myself.' she said determinedly.

"No, you won't." Damon said rising to his feet. "Stefan can snap my neck and I'll tag along to help you find your other piece." Damon said nonchalantly. Shelia studied the older Salvatore. She didn't sense any ill will toward her beloved granddaughter. Damon wasn't the Salvatore she trusted but she knew that Bonnie did. Shelia wasn't too far removed to see what was happening with him and her sweet granddaughter. She didn't approve but Bonnie was an adult who deserved love and it seemed as if it was going to come from Damon Salvatore.

"Damon, no. I can't let you do this." she said.

"Bon, it's ok. I won't stay dead." he said lightly.

"That doesn't matter. I don't want anyone to die for me. Temporary or not." she said stubbornly. Damon stepped closer to her and caressed her cheek. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. Shelia watched the two of them in silence.

"Bonnie, let me do this for you." he quietly pleaded. "I owe you."

"No, you don't. You helped bring me back. We're even." she said eyes shining. He glanced at Shelia.

"We're not even, Bon. Not by a long shot." he told her gently. "So get over it Bennett. I'm coming along." Damon said dropping a kiss to her forehead. Bonnie huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Fine, Salvatore. Just don't get in my way." she said snidely. Shelia chuckled lightly at their antics. The more she watched them the more she became ok with the idea of them.

"Bonnie, baby. I have to go now." Shelia told the young witch. "I love you."

"Ok, I love you, Grams." Bonnie said tears in her eyes. She hugged her grandmother and watched her fade away. The candles went out leaving Bonnie and Damon in complete darkness. She didn't know who reached for who but she was grateful for Damon's strong arms around her in the dark.

"I'm here for you, little witch."

 


	8. It Was Always You, Little Witch

A week later Bonnie met up with Stefan and Damon in the woods behind the boarding house.

"You ready for this?" Stefan asked as Bonnie joined them.

"Yeah, of course." she said. Truthfully she was a little scared. She didn't necessarily want to wander around in a place where things wanted to kill her but she figured it was worth a shot.

"OK, Judgy. Who goes first?" Damon asked.

"You. You have to crossover and then I can join you." she said. He nodded solemnly.

"I'm sorry. Come on Stefan. Let's do it." Before Stefan snapped his neck Damon smirked at Bonnie. "See you on the Other side."

Bonnie watched as Damon sunk to the ground his neck turned at an impossible angle. When she looked up Damon was standing in front of her.

"Hey Bonnie." he said not looking at his body.

"Hi." she said.

"Are you ready?" Damon asked. She nodded slightly and waited for him to take her outstretched hand. She was startled when he placed his lips on hers. She cried out and Stefan held her tightly. She pulled herself up and then closed her eyes and concentrated. Stefan watched as Bonnie fell to the ground beside Damon, he sat down to await their return. When Bonnie opened her eyes she knew she was on the Other Side. Damon was leaning against a tree waiting for her. "OK, witchy? What now?" he asked her.

"Now we look for my other half." she said heading into the woods. Damon flashed in front of her.

"Wait! Do we have a plan? Or are we just going to wander around and hope for the best?" Damon asked as he quirked his eyebrows.

"I don't know. I didn't think about it. Do you have a suggestion?" she asked looking up at him.

"When you came back do you know where you were?" he asked.

"Kind of. I was in the boarding house with Jeremy. But that doesn't mean that's where the other me was, but I remember the falls." she said thoughtfully.

"The falls? This is mystic Falls?" he asked.

"Yes and no. When you cross over you end up in a place you know. I chose the woods around my hometown because it's familiar and easier for me to navigate and when I became the Anchor it became the Other Side." she explained.

"Oh, I understand, I guess. So do you want to go to the boarding house or the falls?" he asked.

"The falls because if Jeremy had seen another me he would have mentioned it." she said setting off into the forest. After they had walked for a little while Damon stopped and looked around. "What is it?" Bonnie asked.

"Someone or something is following us." he said spinning around in slow circles. "Come out, come out whoever you are." Damon said menacingly. They were both shocked when Kol Mikaelson stepped into view. "Kol, what an unpleasant surprise." Damon said flippantly.

"Damon, someone finally killed you? Lucky them, couldn't have happened to a better person." Kol said his signature smirk in place.

"What do you want, Kol?" Bonnie asked hoping to gt rid of him.

"Not much. Just wondering what the two of you are doing. Why are you walking through here, Anchor? What are you looking for?" Kol asked curious.

"We're not looking for anything. Bonnie's just showing me around. I'm the first of her friends to crossover since she became the Anchor. She's being nice." Damon said.

"Right. Welcome to the Other Side." Kol said with an exaggerated bow before walking away.

"That was weird." Bonnie said looking at the spot Kol had been standing in.

"Yeah, but he's weird. And I doubt that's the last we've seen of him." Damon said grabbing her hand and walking toward the falls. Bonnie linked her fingers with his and smiled at how right it felt to have her hand in his. "What's the smile for?" he asked. She didn't want to tell him but she knew that they wouldn't remember anything they said, did or saw when they crossed back over so she reconsidered.

"I was just thinking that us holding hands feels right." she said shyly. Damon looked down at their joined hands and smiled.

"You're right. Everything about us lately is right except the obvious." he said.

"What's the obvious? She asked.

"We're not together." Damon said plainly. He didn't know what made him want to be so honest with her all of a sudden. Maybe it was the atmosphere and knowing no one would hear him. He wanted her to know that he was serious and she wasn't a game to him.

"Damon, wait. Don't say anything else." she said putting her fingers to his lips.

"Why Bonnie? It's the truth."

"Because when we get back we won't remember any of it." she explained.

"What?" he asked confused.

"When we return to our bodies we won't remember anything we said or did." she told him. "So please don't say anything else." she said looking at the ground.

"Bonnie, just because we won't remember doesn't make it any less true. Truth is I care about you. Going back to my body won't change that." he told her forcing her to look at him.

"Damon, it doesn't mater. We have a job to do." Bonnie said walking away from him. She was relieved when he caught up to her and silently linked their hands again. The two entered a clearing and were met with twelve people blocking their way.

"Who are they?" Damon asked stepping in front of Bonnie.

"The twelve witches that were sacrificed for the Expression triangle." Bonnie said.

"What are you doing Bonnie Bennett? Haven't you done enough?" one of the witches said.

"It's none of your business. You're dead." Damon said laughing at his own joke.

"Silence vampire." she said. Then Damon fell to his knees in pain.

"Leave him alone! Stop!" Bonnie yelled. The witches all began to chant and Damon began to writhe in pain on the forest floor in front of her. Bonnie didn't know what else to do so she concentrated and cleared her mind and imagined stripping all twelve witches of their power. One by one she watched them fall to the ground. When only the leader remained Bonnie focused and drew her power from her. The witches looked at Bonnie with a mix of horror and awe. The power she had pulled from them was churning above them like a cloud. The witches watched as Bonnie gathered the power and touched the tree next to her and all of the magic entered the tree causing it to bloom and flourish. The leader of the coven tried to touch the tree to regain her power and was shocked when she touched it and felt pain and the power shrinking away from her. "Magic is for the living. Leave this tree alone or suffer." Bonnie said as she and Damon passed through the clearing.

"So, that was bad ass! I'm impressed Bon!" Damon said smirking at her.

"It was nothing. Just saving you for what was that the hundredth time." Bonnie said with a smirk of her own.

"Touché, witchy." Damon said pulling her closer and putting his arm around her shoulders. When Bonnie and Damon could hear the falls they began to look for her other self. There was no sign of Bonnie Two but they did find their old 'friend' Mason Lockwood. "Lockwood, what do you want?" he asked.

"I know why you're here. I know where she is." Mason said.

"What?" Damon asked looking at the werewolf.

"I spend a lot of my time listening to the people I used to know. It makes me feel close." Mason said sadly.

"Ok, then where is she?" Bonnie asked feeling remorseful for the part she played in his death.

"Kol Mikaelson has her." Mason said "He's had her since you left this place. He always thought you'd come back for her and he wants to hitch a ride back." Mason informed them.

"So our little interlude earlier was a fact finding mission." Damon surmised. "Why are you helping? I'm the reason you're here." Damon questioned.

"I told you I watch and listen to people I used to know. I figure the world is better off with you instead of Kol Mikaelson." Mason said shrugging.

"Thanks, I think." Damon said. "Do you know where he's holding her?" he asked Mason.

"Behind the falls." Mason said as he turned away. "Good luck."

"How do we get behind the falls?" Bonnie asked.

"You mean you kids never played behind the falls. Or partied or anything else back there?" he asked surprised.

"No, I didn't even know you could get back there." she said.

"Come on, Bonnie." he said leading her to the hidden entrance at he back of the falls. It was guarded by what Damon assumed were two vampires. Using his speed he snapped their necks and ushered Bonnie into the giant rock chamber. Standing at the back was the other Bonnie. No one spoke for a minute. "Ok, witchies. Join up so we can get out of here." Damon said raising his eyebrows.

"What are you talking about Damon? How are you here? Who is that? Why is she wearing a glamour to look like me?" Bonnie Two asked. Damon shared a look with the Bonnie he came with and shrugged.

"What has Kol told you?" Bonnie asked.

"That he was keeping me safe. Because witches are after me and I don't have any magic. He's helping me!" Bonnie Two said.

"No, he's not. He's using you as a pawn but we found you before he could make a move. Bonnie, I'm your other part. We got resurrected and you got left behind. I came back to get you. Pleas come with us." Bonnie said.

"No. you're lying. Resurrection is impossible." she turned away from them. Bonnie made a move but Damon stopped her and stepped up to Bonnie Two.

"Bonnie, listen to me." Damon said hands on her shoulders looking deep into her eyes. "When I found out you were gone I refused to accept it. I wasn't going to go on while you weren't alive. Life didn't and doesn't mean much if you're not in it. We got you back but when we found out you were still here the other you and I decided to come get you. She needs you to be whole and I just need you. Please come back with us." he said as he brushed his lips to hers. She looked over his shoulder to the person she thought was an imposter but could now see wasn't. She looked Damon in the eyes and smiled.

"What do I have to do?" she whispered.

"Just touch me and we'll reconnect and I will get us back to our body." Bonnie said.

"Ok." she said moving toward Bonnie.

"Not so fast Bennett." Kol Mikaelson said entering the chamber. "Where do you think you're going?" he sneered.

"Home." Bonnie Two answered the two girls moving closer to each other.

"No, not until she promises to bring me back. I have Gilberts to kill." Kol said with a sinister look.

"Why would I help you even if I could?" Bonnie asked.

"If you don't then I'll just torture your grandmother forever." Kol said with an evil look on his face. He had taken his eye off of Damon while he talked to the two Bonnies. He didn't notice Damon until it was to late.

"The afterlife has made you slow, Mikaelson." Damon said as he snapped Kol's neck. He stepped over the body and smiled. "Ok witchies, get to it." he said. Bonnie grabbed her counterparts' hands and before Damon's eyes two Bonnies became one. Damon stepped up to her and caressed her face. "You ok?" he asked.

"I'm fine." she said with a smile.

"Are you ready to find our way back?" Damon said. Bonnie nodded her head and grabbed his hands. Before Damon could think the two of them were standing by their bodies. She laughed at his facial expression. "How did you do that?" he asked flabbergasted.

"Magic." she said with a wink. "Damon I appreciate what you said to convince the other me. Even if you exaggerated." she said smiling slightly.

"Bonnie, I did not exaggerate." Damon said.

"It's ok. We have no idea what we are to each other and we both know that no matter what Elena is what you want." she said brushing away the tears.

"That's not true, Bonnie. I promise. I know now that I convinced myself that Elena is who and what I want. She's not." he told her passionately. "I know now she never was." he said.

"What?" Bonnie said shocked by the sincerity she could see in his eyes.

"It was always you, Little Witch." Damon said as he touched his body and returned to the side of the living.


	9. That Was for Luck, Little Witch

When Bonnie opened eyes, both Salvatore brothers were looking at her. Damon helped her from the ground.

"How did it go?" Stefan asked.

"Fine." Bonnie answered. "We can't tell you exactly what happened though." she told him before he asked.

"Why?" Stefan asked.

"Memories made on the Other Side don't linger on this side. But if we are back, I'm positive that we accomplished our task." Bonnie said smiling at the younger Salvatore.

"Good. Now step two, finding some poor schmuck to take your place." Damon said.

"No, I told you I am not putting this burden on someone. We have to think of something else." Bonnie said stubbornly.

"What about Katherine? This way she can live forever and be punished for all the shit she's put people through over her long ass life." Damon said as they cleared the woods behind the boarding house.

"No, Damon. We'll think of something else. I won't punish another living thing this way." Bonnie told him. Damon stopped in the back yard and took her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes.

"Bon, we are moving the Anchor. Don't stall and don't be a martyr. I hate watching you go through that. Don't make me keep watching you suffer." Damon said softly before heading into the house. Bonnie turned to see Stefan staring at her. She smiled slightly and entered the boarding house. She was surprised to see Jeremy, Elena, Matt and Caroline standing in the study. She flicked her eyes to Damon and he only shrugged. She heard Stefan com in behind her.

"What's going on?" Stefan asked standing beside Bonnie.

"You tell us!" Caroline snapped. "The three of you have been secretive for a week. What is going on?"

"None of your business, Barbie." Damon said taking a long drink of his favorite bourbon.

"So something is going on?" Elena said. "If I'm in danger I should know about it." Elena said as she moved beside Damon. He looked down at her.

"No one is in danger, Elena." Damon said his patience getting thin.

"Then what is going on? What are you hiding? And why?" she asked.

"It's none of your concern, Elena. Stefan, Witchy and I will handle it." Damon said trying to distract Elena by pulling her close to him. She pulled away.

"No, stop trying to protect me. I can handle it." she said getting angry.

"And I don't want Bonnie handling anything. It's bound to be dangerous and she could get hurt." Jeremy added. Bonnie and Damon rolled their eyes at him.

"You don't get to decide for me, Jer." Bonnie said her voice even.

"Bonnie, I don't want you to put yourself at risk for me." Elena said turning her doe eyes on Bonnie.

"I'm non! I won't! Just forget it!" Bonnie said getting angry. "I'm going back to my dorm." Bonnie said gathering her things.

"Wait, wait, wait." Caroline said. "Bonnie, are you ok?"

"I'm fine, Care." Bonnie said.

"You would tell me if you weren't?" Caroline asked.

"Yes. Don't worry. Everything is fine." Bonnie reassured her.

"Ok Bon. I love you." Caroline said hugging the witch.

"Love you too, Care." Bonnie said leaving the boarding house.

"Damon, tell me what is going on." Elena said wrapping her arms around his waist.

"You heard Bonnie. Everything is fine." Damon said kissing Elena lightly. He pulled free of her grip and left the boarding house. Damon had every intention of going to the grill but somehow he ended up at Whitmore. He got out of his car and made his way to the room Bonnie shared with Caroline and Elena. He didn't bother to knock, he just strolled in.

"Hey Bon." Damon said to his little witch.

"Hi. What are you doing here?" she asked trying to hide the happiness she felt seeing him.

"I wanted to check on you." he said.

"I'm fine. Thank you for asking." she said with a small smile.

"Then why'd you leave? We were going to talk about how you were going to switch the Anchor." Damon said moving closer to her.

"Nothing has changed. I still don't want anyone else to know." she said firmly.

"Why? It's almost over now." Damon said sitting on her bed and pulling her beside him. Bonnie pulled away and stood up.

"I don't want to deal with the 'I can't believe you kept this from me' bullshit." Bonnie said anger surfacing from the conversation she'd be forced to have with them.

"But Bon-Bon, we might need their help to find whatever we're looking for. You know they'll want to help you. Especially Jeremy." Damon said with a tight smile. He stood from her bed. "Come on." he held out his hand. She grabbed it and let herself be pulled from her dorm room. Damon called Stefan and told him to keep everyone there, he was bringing Bonnie back. When they were sitting in front of the boarding house before she could get out of his car, Damon leaned over and kissed her passionately. He pulled back before it got too out of hand.

"What was that?" Bonnie asked trying to catch her breath.

"That was for luck, little witch." Damon said before exiting the car.


	10. I Need You Too, Little Witch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:Don't forget, COMMENTS = LOVE!
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own: The Vampire Diaries. If I did Dullena would have never started and Stelena and Bamon would be so on it hurt.

Bonnie tried to hold back the smile that felt permanently etched onto her face. She followed Damon inside and finally got her poker face together. She looked at he friends, her family, sitting before her and took a deep breath.

"I'm going to switch the Anchor to something else." Bonnie said quietly. No one said anything at first. Then they all had something to say.

"How does that work?" Caroline asked curious.

"I'm happy for you, Bon. Whatever you need, I'm here." Matt said remembering what she went through at the witch house.

"No, Bonnie. That takes too much magic. It's not safe. You won't be able to handle it." Jeremy said folding his arms.

"After everything I went through to get you back, this is what you do?" Elena asked her eyes wide. Bonnie ignored the asinine comments of the Gilberts and answered Caroline's question.

"It's a transference spell. I transfer the Anchor to something else and then it becomes the bridge to the other side." she said.

"Ok, then I'm in Bon, whatever you need." Caroline said smiling.

"Thank you Care. I appreciate it." Bonnie said before she turned angry eyes onto Elena and Jeremy Gilbert. "Jeremy, you don't know what you're talking about so keep your unhelpful opinions to yourself. I'm not asking for your permission. And Elena, what exactly did you do for me? Cut your hand? Thanks. I know it was a hardship." Bonnie said her voice dripping in acid. The two Gilberts were silent. She had never spoken to either of them that way.

"Why? What's the big deal? At least as the Anchor you get to live forever." Elena said rolling her eyes, mad that Bonnie would throw away the effort they made to get her back.

"Amara. I don't want to end up like her." she said holding back tears. Stefan reached out and grabbed her hand and squeezed.

"What? Amara looked exactly like she looked 2000 years ago when Qetsiyah made her the Anchor. You're overreacting Bonnie." Jeremy said with a huff. No one was sure what happened next. All they knew was that Damon had Jeremy by the throat and was squeezing the life from him. Elena and Stefan were yelling at him to stop. Jeremy was trying to fight back but the lack of oxygen wasn't allowing him to. Elena yelled at Bonnie to do something. She knew she meant an aneurysm or setting him on fire but Bonnie was going to hurt Damon that way; especially when he was standing up for her. She placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Damon, stop. Let him go, please. Let go." Bonnie said quietly. To the shock and surprise of everyone but Stefan, Damon let Jeremy go. The youngest Gilbert slumped to the floor and Elena rushed to his side. Damon made eye contact with Bonnie and moved to make a drink. Elena fed Jeremy her blood because Damon had almost crushed his trachea.

"Damon, I can't believe you! What was that?" Elena fumed standing over her slowly recovering brother.

"Your brother is full of shit! He got on my nerves. I was going to kill him and like it. But thanks to Bonnie, he lives to be a douchebag another day." Damon deadpanned.

"He didn't say anything to deserve that, Damon." she said teary-eyed. "You almost killed him." she said tears running down her face.

"Almost killed him, meaning he's not dead. If you want him to stay that way tell him to keep his fucking mouth shut." Damon said his blue eyes glittering dangerously. Elena was surprised. She thought her tears would make him apologize, they usually did.

"Bonnie, why do you want to switch the Anchor?" Caroline asked trying to bring the conversation back to it's original topic. Bonnie looked to Damon, who nodded encouragingly.

"When a supernatural being dies they have to go through me to get to the Other Side. When they pass through I feel the pain of their passing. That's why Amara was begging for her death. Being the Anchor drove her crazy. I don't want that for myself." Bonnie said her eyes brimming with tears. Caroline rushed to her friend's side, pulling her into a hug. Matt joined their hug and they both wiped Bonnie's tears.

"Oh Bon. I'm so sorry. You should have said something." Caroline said.

"I didn't tell anyone." Damon and Matt found out by accident and Stefan found out in St. Louis. I didn't want to seem ungrateful." Bonnie said quietly.

"Bonnie Bennett, that's dumb. We wouldn't have thought you were ungrateful. We would have tried to fix you earlier." Caroline said hands on her hips. "So now what? What do we do now?" Caroline asked looking from Stefan to Damon.

"Bonnie doesn't want to transfer the Anchor to something living. So we have to find something strong enough to endure time." Stefan said.

"Like what?" Matt asked.

"I don't know. I have to do some research." Bonnie said. "But I promise I'll let you know something when I do." she said with a smile.

"Ok good. I'm heading back to the dorm. You coming, Bonnie?" Caroline asked picking up her keys. Bonnie shook her head and shot her eyes toward Elena. Caroline nodded and left the boarding house.

"Ok, Bon. I'll see you later. Call me if you need anything." Matt said to Bonnie hugging her. "Jer, come on man. All things considered you should stay with me tonight." he said to the younger Gilbert. He stood to his feet hugged Elena and shot a longing look at Bonnie. He was crushed when she looked away. Without a word, he followed Matt from the boarding house.

"Bonnie, I..." Elena started.

"No, Elena. I don't want to hear it." Bonnie said, her voice devoid of emotion.

"Damon, we should talk." Elena said to Damon. When he didn't answer she took a step forward. "Damon...don't shut me out. Talk to me." Elena pleaded. Stefan led Bonnie upstairs to the guest room across Damon's room, hugged her and went to his room.

"Damon, what is happening to us?" Elena asked tearful.

"I don't know." Damon said fixing himself another drink.

"You haven't been yourself lately. You've been mean and evasive." Elena said moving closer to him. "You tried to kill Jeremy. Why are you acting like the old Damon?" she pouted.

"The old Damon?" Damon scoffed. "Oh, you mean the Damon that doesn't act like St. Stefan. Well news flash Elena, I'm not Stefan. And no amount of batting your eyelashes or banging me is going to change that. The sooner you realize that the better off we'll be." Damon said his temper rising.

"I don't want you to be Stefan. I want you to just be different than you were. I can't be with you if you're not better." she said tears spilling down her cheeks.

"So I need to be better for you?" he asked angrily.

"Yes. Please, I love you." Elena answered not hearing the anger in his voice.

"No. If I'm not good enough as I am, I'm never going to be good enough for you. I will and I'm still fighting with Stefan." Damon said resigned.

"What do you mean, no? What are you saying?" she asked her eyes wide.

"Nothing. I'm not saying anything." he said quietly.

"I don't understand what's going on with you. All of a sudden you're spending all this time with Bonnie. Keeping secrets from me. Why? I know you brought Bonnie back for me but that doesn't explain the rest." she said perplexed.

"I didn't bring Bonnie back for you. I brought her back for...her. She didn't deserve to be dead." he finished. "And since we're on the subject of personalities we don't like. Yours has been a little off lately." Damon informed her.

"Just because I don't agree with you doesn't mean my personality is off." Elena said.

"Whatever, Elena. If you can't or won't grasp why I did what I did, then I don't know you either." Damon said looking at her with pained eyes.

"Are you breaking up with me?" Elena asked fearfully.

"If I change it'll be on my terms not yours but I like who I am and where I am. I'm not going to change to ease your conscious. If that's a deal breaker then I guess I'm breaking up with you." Damon said quietly. He watched Elena crying. He waited for her to say she loved him exactly as he was but she didn't and he knew she wouldn't. He watched her run from the study, heard her car start and heard her pull away from the boarding house.

Damon met Stefan on the stairs. "I'm sorry brother. For everything." he said full of remorse. Stefan nodded at his brother before leaving the boarding house. Damon was surprised by how he was feeling. He wasn't in love with Elena anymore but the ending of their relationship still hurt. All of his feelings of inadequacy concerning Stefan were bubbling under the surface. He stopped outside Bonnie's door, but didn't go in. Bonnie heard his door shut and she was worried about him. She tiptoed across the hall and went into his room. He was laying on the bed in just his jeans.

"Damon." Bonnie said quietly.

"Yes." he said just as quiet.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

"No. I knew Elena and I ending was an inevitablity. What I didn't now is that I would be feeling this way." he answered.

"What way is that?" she whispered.

"Inadequate. Undeserving of love." he said so love she almost didn't hear him.

"You're wrong. You are neither of those things." Bonnie said with conviction.

"But I'm not the good brother. I can never be him." he said said with a warning.

"I would never want him." Bonnie said. Damon sat up and looked at Bonnie. She was wearing one of the shirts he had lent her when she was recovering.

"I can't be second." he said.

"Me either." she told him. He nodded in understanding. He held out his hand to her and she moved to the bed and grabbed his outstretched hand. He pulled her to the bed and settled her onto his lap. He looked deep into her green eyes and felt peace. She kissed him deeply not wanting to fight it anymore. "Damon, I need you." she whispered.

"I need you too, little witch." Damon said as he captured Bonnie's lips in a fiery kiss.


	11. I Love You, Little Witch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:Bamily, thank you so much for sticking with this little story that was only supposed to be a one-shot. I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you enjoy this final chapter. Thanks again!
> 
> COMMENTS=LOVE!
> 
> Spell courtesy of the TVD wiki.

Damon trailed his lips from her lips down to her throat slowly nipping at her pulse point. Bonnie moaned and ran her fingers through his raven hair. She pulled him back to kiss her, their tongues battling for dominance. Damon pulled his shirt over her head surprised that she wasn't wearing a bra.  
He used his vampire speed to flip them over. He dipped his head and took one of her taunt nipples into his hot mouth. Bonnie moaned Damon's name and arched her back as Damon switched to the other nipple. He kissed his way down her body savoring the taste of her skin. When he reached her panty clad core he looked up at her and ripped her panties from her body. He inhaled her scent and lightly kissed her pussy lips.

"Damon, don't tease!" Bonnie whispered. He smirked and delved into his feast like a starving man. He ran his tongue from clit to slit relishing in her taste. He slowly pumped his tongue in and out of dripping hole. Bonnie held onto the sheets thrashing her head from side to side. The only words she could manage to say were, "Oh Damon."

He picked up speed with his tongue as Bonnie's hips began to move against his face. When Damon sucked gently on her pussy lips Bonnie could feel her release getting close. Damon sucked her clit and Bonnie's orgasm gushed coating his tongue. He licked his lips as he felt her juices slide down his throat. He removed his jeans and blanketed her body with his. "Bonnie, are you sure? There is no going back." Damon said.

Bonnie's answer was to kiss and reach between their bodies to gently stroke his achingly hard cock.  
"Are you sure?" Bonnie asked him wanting to be sure. He kissed her roughly and moved her hand from him. He wasn't gentle when he slid into her wetness. Bonnie arched her back and matched Damon's rhythm easily. Bonnie wrapped her legs around Damon's waist pulling him deeper inside of her. Bonnie watched his face change, he turned away from her but she grabbed his face and turned him to her. "Don't hide from me." she whispered. Damon kissed her and felt her tongue slide across his fangs. He could feel her getting close. Her walls were fluttering around his cock as he pumped in and out of her. He buried his head in her neck trying to fight the urge to feed from her. "It's ok. Do it!" she said her voice full of pleasure.

Damon gently sank his fangs into her slender neck. As soon as she felt his fangs in her neck, she tumbled into a blinding orgasm. She felt Damon cum inside of her and it triggered another orgasm. Neither of them noticed the violent storm that raged outside, they only noticed what was happening between them. When Damon pulled away from her neck he looked around.

"Bon, I think we're floating." he said. She looked around and giggled.

"I think you're right." she said as she floated them back to the bed. "That's never happened before." she said.

"It's because no one has ever been as good as me." Damon said with a smug smile as he rolled off of her. Bonnie immediately missed his warmth so she snuggled next to him. He put his arm around her and pull her close. "You should take some of my blood to heal you." he said.

"No thanks. I got it covered." Bonnie said as she closed her eyes. When she opened her eyes Damon could see the wound on her neck had healed.

"That's a neat trick." he said smiling.

"Yeah. It only works on small wounds." she informed him. She yawned widely and he kissed her on the top of the head.

"Go to sleep. We'll start looking for something to switch the Anchor to tomorrow. Bonnie snuggled closer to Damon and was asleep within minutes.

When she awoke the next morning she stretched languidly and felt for Damon. When he wasn't there she sat up and saw a note on the nightstand.

_Bon,_ _  
_ _You looked to_ _o_ _cute to wake up. Be back later. Don't leave, please._

_D_

Bonnie smiled and made her way to the bathroom. She was practically giddy that she was finally getting to use Damon's big ass tub. After her bath Bonnie put on a pair of shorts she'd left behind and one of Damon's tees. When she wandered into the kitchen she was surprised to see Jeremy.

"Hi, Bonnie." Jeremy said with a slight smile. Bonnie thought that she would feel guilt or regret for the night before. She didn't feel any of that, even though she and Jeremy were still technically dating. But if she was honest, she and Jeremy had been over for a long time.

"Hey Jer. We need to talk. No I need to talk and you need to listen." Bonnie said taking a seat across from him. "The things you said last night were not ok. You don't know anything about my magic, because you haven't bothered to ask. This power is different but it doesn't matter to you. All you want to do is punish me for the mistakes of the past. Even though I let yours go." she said.

"If you're talking about Anna, I told you I was sorry." he said slightly agitated. "You've  _never_  apologized." he finished folding his arms tightly over his chest.

"Apologize? For bringing you back to life! You are so right! I'm sorry for thinking your life was worth living." she said sarcastically.

"Your sarcasm is unnecessary, Bonnie." Jeremy said hotly.

"No. You know what's unnecessary? You and me. This entire Bonnie and Jeremy thing is unnecessary. I want an equal, not someone who thinks they know better than me." Bonnie said raising her voice.

"You're breaking up with me because I'm trying to get you to see reason. Bonnie, you can't keep this magic! It's changing you! It's hurting you!" Jeremy said his voice slightly raised as well.

"That's ridiculous! It's changing me? It's not. You're just mad that I'm not submissive-follow-your-lead-Bonnie anymore. I am the last Bennett witch. I have been entrusted with a legacy, that you can't begin to understand. This is me. Deal with it!" Bonnie yelled as she turned to leave the kitchen. She ran straight into Damon's rock hard chest. He looked down at her and his gaze darkened as he watched Bonnie's chest heaving. His pants tightened as he watched her pulse fluttering at her neck.

"Hey Bon! What's going on?" he asked locking eyes with the Hunter in his kitchen.

"Nothing, Damon." she said pushing him backward out of the kitchen.

"Ok. Oh and Jeremy, get your shit and get out. You don't get to say the shit you said last night and then get to stay in my house. I heard the busboy was looking for a roommate." Damon said his expression daring Jeremy to defy him.

Over the next few weeks Bonnie slowly moved her things into the boarding house. She was going to move home but it was too sad for her to stay there. Stefan offered her a room because he understood that she wasn't ready to live with Elena again.

She told Caroline that she was moving back to Mystic Falls but that she would see her on campus. Bonnie rarely saw Elena or Jeremy and when she did she didn't speak to them.

In her free time she researched things in the grimoires that she had to see if she could find anything to use to be the Anchor. She kept coming back to people. Bonnie was getting frustrated. She threw the grimoire she was reading and flopped back on the couch.

Hi, Bonnie." Caroline said entering the study. She sat on the couch beside Bonnie.

"Hey Care. What's up?" Bonnie asked.

"Nothing is up. I just miss you. And so does Elena. She's sorry." Caroline said.

"If she's so sorry then why doesn't she apologize." Bonnie said sadly.

"You haven't been answering your phone or your front door." Caroline stated.

"She went to my house?" Bonnie asked.

"Yeah. She said you didn't open the door." Caroline said.

"I wasn't there. I was going to stay there but everything reminded me of what I'd lost. Stefan told me I could stay here." Bonnie told her best friend. Caroline smiled in understanding.

"How's the search for a new Anchor coming?" Caroline asked settling in beside Bonnie.

"Horrible. I can't find anything that will hold the kind of magic it's going to take. Just people and that's what I'm trying to avoid." Bonnie said.

"Maybe you can't. Qetsiyah made Amara the Anchor to punish her and Silas. Maybe she didn't want Silas to do what you're doing. She did the switch because she knew Amara was human again." Caroline said shrugging.

"Well then I guess this is my burden to bear." Bonnie said getting up and leaving Caroline sitting downstairs.

* * *

Two months later Damon entered the kitchen finding Bonnie studying. He leaned on the counter watching her before he moved to the fridge to grab a bloodbag. He was happy to have her around. Stefan was the only one who knew about the two of them. Bonnie wasn't ready for everyone to know and Damon was patient as long as at home there were no restrictions.

"Bon, when are we doing this Anchor switch?" he asked taking a sip from the bloodbag.

"We're not." she said not looking up.

"Excuse me? Why not?" Damon said his eyebrows moving high on his forehead.

"Because the Anchor has to be a person. And I have made it perfectly clear that I am not going to burden another person this way." she told him again.

"That's bullshit, Bonnie!" Damon raged.

"Why are you so upset?" she asked eyes wide.

"Why are you being so stubborn?" he asked lowering his voice.

"I'm not. The Anchor is a punishment. It is unfair of me to pass it on just because I can." Bonnie said wrapping her arms around Damon's waist.

"What do you have to be punished for? What's not fair is you taking 'crazy pants' punishment." Damon said as he kissed Bonnie lightly. "What if you do what Qetsiyah did?" Damon asked.

"What do you mean? Make the Anchor my ex-boyfriend's current girlfriend?" she said with a smirk.

"No smartass. Use someone from the Other Side." Damon said looking into her eyes.

"But they would be right where I am in pain when a supernatural passes through." she said shaking her head.

"What if we had another seance and you asked for volunteers or something. Explain everything to them and let them decide." Damon said.

"I don't know." Bonnie skeptically.

"You can't say no if they volunteer, Bon." Damon said with a smirk. Bonnie smiled and nodded her acquiesce.

"Ok. We'll need everyone here. Their energies will draw the people they loved who are on the Other Side." Bonnie said.

"Great." Damon said drily.

Later that evening the entire gang including Tyler who was recently back in town and Katherine gathered in the study. Bonnie stood in front of them all with Damon directly behind her. If anyone noticed how close they were standing to each other they didn't voice it.

"Thanks for coming. I have learned that people are the only things that can hold this kind of magic." Bonnie started. "So Damon suggested that I ask..." she continued but was interupted by Jeremy Gilbert.

"That you ask one of us. And you just went along with it. I told you guys this magic is changing her." Jeremy said rising to his feet.

"Sit down, Jeremy." Stefan said with quiet authority. Jeremy sat down with a huff, arms crossed.

"Like I was saying, Damon suggested I ask someone who is already on the Other Side. I would explain what it means to be the Anchor. Then I would do the switching spell, if I get a volunteer. If I don't get a volunteer then I'm the Anchor forever. You are all here to pull the energy of people close to you." Bonnie explained. Damon began setting up the candles. When he was finished, Bonnie lit them all with her magic. "Everyone concentrate on someone close to you that's on the Other Side."

Everyone focused and they all saw the flames shoot up and felt the room grow cold. When the flames lowered the room was full of people. Damon looked around and was taken aback at the number of losses they had suffered, a few he had killed himself.  
Bonnie watched Matt and Vicky, Stefan and Lexi, Tyler and Mason, Jeremy and Elena with Jenna, Caroline and Jesse, Katherine and Emily and Damon and Ric, sadness threatening to choke her. She looked beside her to see Sheila.

"Grams, is this the right thing?" Bonnie asked unsure.

"I hate to watch you suffer, child. This punishment is not yours to bear. And if you can alleviate it fairly: you should." Sheila told her.

"Thanks Grams." she said quietly. "Hi, everybody. I've called you here for a reason. I am offering one of you the opportunity to be the Anchor. You don't have to take it. I understand if none of you want it." Bonnie said.

The room was silent for a beat then a voice said, "I'll do it." the entire room turned to see who had spoken. No one said anything.

"Anna!" Jeremy Gilbert said rushing to her side.

"Hi, Jeremy." Anna said with a smile. Damon rolled his eyes and spoke up quickly.

"This is not an opportunity to make a love connection. Whoever it is should have some purpose other than being Baby Gilbert's girlfriend." Damon said with disdain.

"What would they have to do?" Tyler asked.

"Nothing but you should know that when a supernatural passes through you feel the pain of their passing. It is painful and it drove the last Anchor insane." she told them.

"But Bonnie Amara didn't know what was happening to her and she was locked up." Damon reminded her.

"True but please weigh this decision carefully. No one will be upset if you all decide to say no." Bonnie said looking at the assembled guests.

"I still want to do it." Anna said. Elena rolled her eyes.

"I'll do it." another voice said. The room turned to see the smirk of Kol Mikaelson. "I have unfinished business." he said looking at the Gilbert siblings.

"What kind of unfinished business?" Stefan asked eying the Original distrustfully.

"Killing Jeremy and Elena." he answered truthfully.

"You honestly think I am going to make you the Anchor, knowing you have vengeance on your mind?" Bonnie asked looking away from him.

"Doesn't hurt to ask." Kol said shrugging.

"Would I be a vampire?" Vicky Donovan asked.

"Yes you would. But I would make you a daylight ring." Bonnie said.

"When I was a vampire I was out of control that's how I ended up dead." Vicky said with a slight smile.

"That will not be an issue." Emily spoke up. "You have gained clarity and maturity. They will return with you." the oldest Bennett witch said.

"Ok. Then I want to do it. Matty needs me, he needs someone to keep him away from the Original blonde." she said to Bonnie.

"Vicky, are you sure?" Matt asked. "I saw what Bonnie went through when a supernatural passes to the Other Side. I don't want that for you, Vic." Matt said tearfully.

"I'm sure I can handle it." Vicky said with an encouraging smile.

"Ok, Vic. I love you." Matt said with a smile.

"Thank you so much Vicky." Bonnie said with gratitude.

"No problem, Bonnie. I've seen what you've been through. You deserve something good." she said shooting a look at Elena.

"Vicky, stay close to Matt and we'll do the spell in a couple of days." Bonnie said.

"Why are you waiting?" Damon asked.

"Because I need Elena's blood. And I'm not sure how willing she'll be to give it to me. I want to settle things with her before I ask her for anything." Bonnie told him.

"If she won't give the blood voluntarily, I'll just take it from her." Damon said his voice grave.

"Let me handle it. No taking anyone's blood by force." Bonnie said chuckling and without thinking she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. When she pulled away she realized what she had done.

"Is it too much to hope that no one saw us?" she asked Damon her voice full of false hope.

"They all saw you, Judgy. But they don't blame you. They know it's impossible to stay off my flawless body." Damon said with a sexy smirk.  
He was glad the truth was finally out in the open. Bonnie turned around to see a myriad of expressions. Before she said anything she decided to get rid of the ghosts.

"Take a few more minutes but then you have to go back."Bonnie said with a sad smile. After everyone had said their goodbyes she blew out the candles and they watched their loved ones fade away.

"Oh yay! Time for the good stuff." Katherine said sitting in a chair crossing her legs.

"Bonnie, I can't believe you would do this to me. Friends don't date each other's exes." Elena said upset, as Caroline's eyes widened.

"I didn't do anything  _to_  you. And you can't take the moral high ground! You threw out all the who dates who rules when you decided to date brothers." Bonnie said anger flashing in her green eyes. Elena had enough decency to look contrite.

"Maybe I blurred the availability line but it's not ok to cheat on my brother!" Elena said crossing her arms.

"Oh. But it's ok for him to cheat on me. Of course it is, I keep forgetting that Gilberts have special rules that allow them to hurt people without consequence." Bonnie said with venom. Elena flinched at Bonnie's words. Elena took a small minute to admit to herself that Bonnie was right. But she didn't necessarily care except where Bonnie and the Salvatores were concerned. She didn't want to hurt them. "You are not going to guilt me about this. Damon broke up with you. I broke up with Jeremy. Damon and I care about each other. We've decided to give a relationship a try. And don't pretend to be so hurt at Damon's moving forward when you've moved on: back to Stefan." Bonnie said leveling a look at Elena. "Give me the same courtesy you gave Caroline when she dated Matt." Bonnie finished. Elena looked properly chastised.

"I wish you had talked to me about it first. But if you're happy, I'm happy no matter who's making you happy. I love you, Bonnie." Elena said moving to hug her best friend.

"Thank you, Elena. I love you too." Bonnie said returning the hug. She turned to Jeremy waiting for him to say something.

"I thought you were smarter than this but date whoever you want. But when this magic backfires, like it always does, don't come crying to me. Find someone else who can see across the veil." Jeremy said rudely before exiting the house.

"Bonnie, what do you need for the spell?" Elena asked trying to distract from the hateful things her brother said.

"Blood from three dopplegängers." Bonnie said wiping her eyes.

"Done. Is that all?" Stefan asked.

"Yes. We still have Qetsiyah's grimoire. I don't need anything else." Bonnie responded.

"Ok. When do you want to do this?" Elena asked.

"Two nights from now." she said. Everyone left Bonnie and Damon alone.

"Bon, don't think about what Jeremy said. That kid is a dick." Damon said pulling her to him. She pulled away from him and left the room. Bonnie went outside to the woods were she could quietly meditate. She was not thinking about the spell. She was thinking about what Jeremy didn't say about her relationship with Damon. While she was sitting there Jeremy found her.

"I knew you'd be here." he said.

"Good for you. Go away." she said without looking at him.

"Bonnie, I'm sorry I've been a jerk. You deserve better. I'm going to be better. I love you." he told her leaning in to kiss her. She leaned away tears in her eyes.

"No. You don't get to say the things you said then offer a flimsy apology and kiss make up." Bonnie said. "We're done! I'm sorry I can't. I love...I just can't." she finished in a rush.

"You love Damon? Too bad for you he only loves himself and my sister. I won't be waiting when he goes crawling back to Elena." Jeremy said angry about being rejected.

"Jeremy, go away." Bonnie said trying to hold back her tears.

When Stefan found her she was still crying. He hugged her tightly. "Bonnie, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Jeremy was here. He told me he wanted to get back together. I told him I couldn't because of Damon. And Jeremy spoke my biggest fear aloud." Bonnie said tears still falling.

"What's that?" Stefan asked but already knowing the answer.

"That Damon will realize he still loves Elena and I'll be alone again." Bonnie said quietly.

"Damon hasn't confided in me. So I'm not sure but I have a theory. Want to hear it?" Stefan asked.

"Yeah." Bonnie said wiping her tears.

"When Damon was faced with the reality that you would be gone forever, he forced himself to look at some truths. One being he wasn't really in love with Elena anymore. The other being that a world without Bonnie Bennett wasn't a world he wanted to be a part of, because he loves you." Stefan finished.

"He hasn't so." she said looking at Stefan skeptically.

"I'm not surprised. Twice Damon has loved openly and fully and both times its been thrown back in his face. Maybe he's a little gun shy." Stefan reasoned.

"Not true. Elena loved him back." Bonnie said.

"Due mostly to the sire bond. Then when she turned her emotions back on he knew it wasn't the real thing. I could tell and even if he didn't say it, he knew." Stefan told her. Bonnie wanted to believe it. But as good as Damon made her feel, she was still afraid. She didn't want to be a pawn or thrown over the next time Elena was in danger. "Bonnie, I don't know if your looking for advice, but if you are I have some for you. Listen to your heart and take a leap of faith." he told her leaving her sitting alone.

Bonnie decided not to let thoughts of Damon dominate her thoughts. She had a serious spell to do in a couple days. Two days later Bonnie was standing in the same room in the same place Qetsiyah stood a few months before: preparing to do the same spell she had done.

Matt was in the study. He had convinced Jeremy to come along to let him know if Vicky was around. Jeremy had begrudgingly agreed to come: to comfort Matt when the spell didn't work or killed someone.

Damon and Bonnie hadn't said much to each other over the preceding two days. Bonnie was afraid because nothing in the way of them being together. Damon was afraid she had come to her senses and realized she would be better of without him.  
Katherine, Stefan and Elena stood around the table with Bonnie. She handed Stefan the knife first: he cut himself over the bowl first followed by Elena and then Katherine. Bonnie poured the blood over the book and began to recite the spell.

**Ina prankuus sectee gem i quatarkay**

**rrsataam i patarsay rrsataam, i**

**patarsay rrsataam!**

The blood swirled and disappeared. The wind blew and lightning cracked outside. The candles around the table flickered and then the flames grew.  
When the wind began Matt stood to his feet looking all around him. When the storm stopped he turned to see his sister standing before him. He reached out to touch her and cried when she felt solid. Matt pulled Vicky into his arms. They both cried, happy to be reunited.

Jeremy was shocked. He ran to find Bonnie but was shocked again when he saw her talking to Stefan and Elena.

"Vicky's back." Jeremy said and turned and left the room.

"Bonnie, you did it!" Elena said hugging her best friend. "Do you feel alright?" Elena asked concerned.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired but that's normal." she said. "I have to go. I'll see you guys later." Bonnie said going in search of Damon.  
She found him in his bedroom drinking a glass of his best aged bourbon.

"Damon, I did it! I switched the Anchor." she said.

"Congratulations Bon." he said not looking at her.

"I didn't think I could do it and I didn't want to let you down. So I kept making up excuses not to." she admitted.

"I told you that you are the best witch I've ever met." he told her giving her a smoldering look.

"You've always had more faith in my abilities than I have. Even when you hated me." she said shyly.

"I never hated you." he said honestly. "And it killed me that you hated me but I know I deserved your hate." he told her with understanding.

"I don't hate you now." she told him with quiet intensity. He moved quickly in front of her and pulled her into a passionate kiss. When Bonnie pulled back so she could breathe she caressed the black veins under his eyes. "Make love to me." she whispered.

Damon used his vampire speed to get them naked in a blink. As Damon hovered over her their fingers intertwined he kissed her deeply. Bonnie heard Damon whisper as he slipped into her, "I love you, Little Witch."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N2:Just a couple notes. I wrote this before the April 17th episode, I always intended to choose Vicky. Because the sadistic TVD writers keep making Matt grieve for his sister over and over. I like Matt hence Vicky the Anchor.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Little Witch Chronicles presents: Daylight](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1507331) by [MsMKT86](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsMKT86/pseuds/MsMKT86)




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